Guardians of Aura
by KatanaNinja
Summary: The Guardians of Aura were once a proud race of elite warriors wielding amazing abilities. Ash has been born with the Guardians’ ability to control and influence Aura. But if he can’t find a teacher he will never master it. This is the story of his quest.
1. New Friends and Old Grudges

Guardians of Aura Chapter 1

**Keep in mind this is an epic story and not purely about shipping. Figure out the pairings as you go along. You shippers like a challenge don't you?**

**This is rated T for partialy frequent language throughout, mild suggestive themes, and violence. **

**Introduction: this is the story taking place in modern-day Japan in the world of Pokemon about a young Pokemon trainer without a father named Ash Ketchum and his quest to become a Guardian of Aura. But we shall begin our tale not with him, but rather on a more humble note. **

A lonely Houndour was digging through a few littered candy rappers discarded in a small metal trash can in a large deserted building probing for even the smallest source of nourishment. It was male Houndour who had been struggling to survive after losing sight of his owner many years ago. The black, dog-like Pokémon's fur and face were dirty and beaten up from scuffles with other Pokemon over food and territory. He had not usually been on the winning end of these fights. His dry, cracked throat had lost the drive to breathe fire due to lack of water and his jaw muscles could not compete with other Houndour because of his lack of winning experience. His ribs were almost visible on the outside of his fat-less body and a crippling rumple reminded him how starving he was every few minutes.

As the Houndour's futile rummaging continued his ear picked up on a subtle noise. He turned his head ever so slightly to notice a large collection of figures approaching from the distance. His brittle paws could feel the tapping of footsteps approaching getting stronger and louder with each passing moment. The Houndour turned his head around completely to see a large crowd of people thundering towards him.

In his solitude Houndour had learned to fear humans. He would receive as severe beating if he ever tried to steal food from one of them or sleep in their homes. He remembered horrible recollections of humans kicking him, throwing rocks at him, or hitting him with whatever was in their hands. Needless to say this contributed to his rather pitiful physical condition. Houndour turned around and ran for cover, leaving the empty trashcan and the few discarded rappers forgotten.

Releasing what little strength he had remaining, Houndour scrambled through an unlocked door in an attempt to escape the possibly threatening humans. Behind the door was a strange room lined with tiled floors that had white sinks and mirrors on the wall and stalls with white chairs in them. Houndour knew that the humans called these places "bathrooms" but he did not know what they were for. Hearing the chatter of people walking by, he hid behind a plastic waste basket.

Houndour's heart stopped as he heard the creaking of the door reopening. Premonitions of a painful pounding nearly brought tears to his eyes as he braced for what lied next. Houndour gritted his teeth as he heard the pit patter of a human walking into the bathroom. He prayed that the human would not notice him, but the tapping of it walking around the waste basket to him became obvious. As he came face to face with the dangerous human not having the strength or courage to bark, he whimpered, begging for mercy.

"It's okay I'm not going to hurt you" the human said in a gentle, caring voice. Houndour looked up and saw the person's face. She was a young, thin, redheaded girl wearing a yellow pair of shorts and top and a red shirt covering her midriff with a cheery smile on her face. "My name is Misty" she said putting her right hand over her heart. "If you're alone I can help you." The fearful Houndour stayed shivering in his place. Noticing the frightened Pokemon's ribs the girl reached into her backpack and pulled out a ham sandwich. Misty knelt down and held out the sandwich with her left hand. "You look hungry, go on take it."

Houndour's ravenous hunger overpowering his fear he timidly stepped towards the food. Slowly he took a bite of the sandwich. He quickly snapped his eyes shut and expected to feel a blow to the head. One didn't come. Unhurriedly, by surely he continued to nibble at the sandwich until he had finished it.

Houndour cranked his head up at Misty who was still smiling sweetly. "I'm your friend. I only want to help you. Do you understand?" Misty calmly asked once again placing her hand over her heart. Houndour's distrust of humans had somehow been lowered for her. By hook or by crook he knew that she was different than the cruel humans he had come to fear. Houndour jumped on Misty and began licking her face affectionately. "I'll take that as a 'yes' I guess" Misty laughed as Houndour's tongue lashed at her.

Misty picked up the scraggly Houndour, cradling him in her gentle arms and walked out of the bathroom. There were more people clamoring around but in Misty's arms he felt safe. They walked through a strange hallway with dozens of more people until they came to the sunlit end. Rather than a room, they came to a large stadium with long, blue benches surrounding a monumentally large battlefield. Misty took her seat on one of the benches with Houndour sitting next to her. Misty reached into her backpack with Houndour anticipating more food. In answer to Houndour's prayers, she pulled out a large tin can of Pokémon food. A faint pop was heard as she opened the lid off of it revealing the savory surplus inside. "Eat up" Misty said as she set the tin in front of Houndour. "It may not taste as good as the sandwich" she warned. As Houndour slowly dug into his small banquet he didn't care about taste, just that he was finally eating.

The stadium suddenly erupted in thunderous cheering as the voice of an announcer was heard coming from a large intercom. "Welcome one and all to the annual Sinnoh Pokémon League battling competition!" The starving Houndour continued devouring his food, having no interest in anything else at the moment. "Now if our first competitors will please make their way to the center field!" A large muscular man in what looked to be a karate gi and a short, black-haired boy wearing a black jacket and blue jeans walked out onto parallel sides on the field. "Let's hear a big hand for our first competitors! In one corner we have Ash of Pallet town and in the other corner we have Kaz of Eterna City!" The crowded exploded in cheering. Houndour didn't even pretend to be paying attention to what was going on as he continued gnawing on his sustenance. "Let the battle begin!" the intercom voice declared.

As Houndour continued raptly eating the sounds of what could only be interpreted as Pokémon being released from Pokéballs and fighting faded in the background. After about ten minutes of sounds of the thuds of collision and the thunder of explosions being forced through Houndour's ears there was a small moment of silence. Houndour kept his jaw inside of the tin and continued chewing to make the most of this peace. Before long, the announcer's voice came on again proclaiming, "Ash of Pallet Town is the winner!" Cheering once again boomed from the engrossed spectators.

"Way to go Ash!" Misty yelled proudly. Having finished his meal Houndour tilted his head towards Misty in slight surprise to this outburst. "He's my friend" Misty shrugged noticing Houndour's curiosity. "Now let's get ready for round two!" the announcer roared.

As Ash and his defeated opponent disappeared behind parallel arched doorways Houndour felt a rush of drowsiness overpower him. He was very sleep deprived since he had usually spent his nights scavenging for food. Uninterested in whatever was going on in the stadium, Houndour laid down and cradled himself into a comfortable position. In spite of his ears Houndour let any noise that was in the background fade away as he slowly drifted into unconsciousness.

As an earsplitting noise pierced through Houndour's drums he abruptly woke to hear the crowd in a complete frenzy of excitement. Tiredly lifting his head towards the sky Houndour noticed that the sun was just about to set, he had been asleep for hours. As his blurred eyes came into focus he looked toward the battlefield. On some manner of a scoreboard there was a picture of Ash and one of a purple haired boy with a malicious scowl on his face. The pictures divided the board in half and underneath them were photos of Pokémon. On both sides each of the pictures of Pokémon was grey, save for one. On Ash's side a Pikachu was the colored-in Pokemon. On the purple-haired boy's side a Torterra retained its shine. As Houndour looked down he noticed that both of these Pokemon were on the battlefield. The scoreboard had, in big flashing letters, on it the words, "Final round."

Both Pikachu and Torterra looked like their battle had taken a toll on them. They both were covered in bruises and dirt while panting to keep calm. There was a small pool of blood hanging from Torterra's lip and Pikachu's left eye was having trouble staying open. The reason that the crowd had been loud enough to wake Houndour was obviously because this battle couldn't last much longer.

The crowd grew silent as it seemed that a very apprehensive Ash was preparing to give out his next command.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt!"

A jet of lightning shot from the electric mouse's body as it shouted out in effort.

Ash's opponent stayed calm as he readied his defense.

"Torterra, wipe it out with Leaf Storm!"

A flurry of glowing leafs fell from the grass turtle's back and launched forward as it roared in rage.

The lightning bolts and leafs collided in the center of the filed, resulting in a huge explosion that spread a plume of dust through the entire stadium. "Neither Pikachu or Torterra had very much left in them. This could be the end!" the announcer pointed out.

"Come on Pikachu" Misty urged. As the airborne dirt began to subside the results of the battle became clear. Torterra was exhausted beyond ability to use another attack, but still standing. Pikachu however, was lying face-flat on the ground, unconscious.

"Pikachu can no longer continue Paul is the winner!" the announcer declared.

The crowd once again began cheering (though seemingly quieter than before) as Misty quietly remarked, "Oh no."

After the battle Misty and Houndour took a walk around the stadium to calm down after the excitement of the battle. Misty had tried to find her friend Ash before to see if he was okay, but to no effect. Subsequent to his defeat Ash was nowhere to be found.

Houndour suddenly spotted something in the distance and ran off. What he had noticed was a drinking fountain with a puddle of cool water formed on the ground below it due to a leak. As he arrived at the fountain he heard Misty panting directly behind him. "You should warn me when you're going to take of like that" Misty gasped. Abruptly, Misty turned around to hear a thud in the distance. As Houndour began lapping up the water to satisfy his dry throat, Misty saw the shadow of Ash about 15 feet into the distance. She was about to walk towards him when she noticed, he was beating the ground with his fist.

Under his breath he was mumbling, "Of all people why did I have to lose to him? No. No. No!" Inside of Ash a burning rage greater than anything he had ever felt before grew until it became unbearable for the defeated Pokémon trainer.

"DAMN IT!" Ash hollered for the whole world to hear.

As Misty heard her friends furious outburst of anger, all she could think of to say was, "Poor guy…"

Out of apparently nowhere a voice remarked, "Talk about sore losers."

Misty began to reply," Well he's just…wait a second." Misty moved her head around to see if anyone else was there. "Houndour did you here something?" Misty asked confusedly.

"No but I said something" that same voice answered. Misty looked down and gasped at the unbelievable sight; Houndour was in fact talking.

"H…Houndour?"

"Your friend over there, he's taking this too seriously."


	2. A Very Strange Houndour

Guardians of Aura Chapter 2

**Sorry it took so long.**

**Don't worry later chapters will have more to do with aura.**

Misty gaped open-mouthed at Houndour for a long moment. As her shock began to wear off Misty started, "You're…you're…"

"Talking? I know it's weird isn't it?" Houndour finished. Misty nodded her head. He spoke with an air of casualness and in low key voice.

"How…how…" Misty stuttered, pointing her finger at Houndour.

"How do I do it?" Houndour asked for Misty. She nervously shook her head.

"I don't know. I've been able to as long as I can remember. Then again I don't remember much of anything."

Misty had now managed to calm down and asked, "You don't remember anything?"

"Nope, but with the story of my life there really isn't much to remember" Houndour replied, now scratching his ear with his back leg.

"Why?" Mist asked.

"I've been a stray basically my whole life" Houndour nonchalantly replied. Misty then truly noticed how sorry Houndour's condition was. His fur was torn and tattered and his face was beaten and bruised.

"That's really awful" said Misty in a gentle tone.

"Eh, live and let live" Houndour replied.

"So what's the deal with him over there?" Houndour asked nodding his head toward the distant shadow of Ash. "He's pretty mad."

"I guess he's pretty upset about losing that match" Misty calmly replied, turning her head sympathetically toward Ash in time to witness him standing up and angrily stalking away.

"What's there to be upset about? You win some and you lose some" Houndour said, now licking his paws in a grooming fashion.

"I guess that's true. But for him this battle was a really big deal" Misty told Houndour in a way that expressed sorrow.

"Battle? You mean a Pokémon Battle?" Houndour asked, gaining a slight amount of interest.

"Uh, yeah…you know about Pokémon Battles?" Misty asked the stray Houndour confusedly.

"I've heard things" Houndour answered indifferently. "So why was this one a big deal?"

"Well it was a League Championship" Misty started. "Do you know what those are?" she finished.

Houndour began to roll around in the grass as he jadedly explained, "The best trainers from all around a region get together in a big stadium and have their Pokemon fight each other until one of them is the last man standing and is declared the champion, right?"

"Basically" Misty shrugged, slightly bemused by the fire Pokémon's knowledge of this. She added, "It's always been Ash's dream to win one of these championships and earn the title of a Pokémon Master and so far he hasn't had much luck. But…"

"But what?" Houndour asked, slightly intrigued by Misty's pause.

"I've never seen him this mad about losing one of these before; usually he's pretty okay with it" Misty answered worriedly.

Now sitting up, Houndour proposed, "Maybe he as some kind of grudge with that guy he lost to."

"I guess" Misty replied nervously. "I've...never even heard him swear before." Looking towards the sun Misty added, "I didn't know he could get that angry."

Suddenly the sun set and nightfall cast upon Houndour and Misty. A little bit of concern arousing in his heart for the worried Misty, Houndour gently said, "Well I guess you better get going."

"Me? What about you?" Misty asked.

"Eh I'm used to being by myself, don't worry, I'll be fine" Houndour replied gauntly. "Trust me, you don't want me around." He turned around and began to walk away.

"Wait" Misty ejected. Houndour stopped in his tracks. "You really think that I would give you my food, watch over you, and treat you like a friend without having the fullest intentions of taking you home?" Misty asked putting her hands on her hips. Houndour curved around and merely stared at Misty. "Unless you have and owner that is" Misty happily added.

"No…no owner" Houndour stuttered.

**The next day.**

Houndour and Misty were now on a large ferry that was heading to a place Misty called "Cerulean City". Misty had told Houndour that Cerulean City was her hometown and she had taken a boat to visit the Sinnoh region to watch Ash's championship battles. She had also told Houndour not to talk in front of anyone except for her so as not to cause a panic. When asked by Houndour why Misty was calm about his ability to talk she replied that she once knew a talking Meowth so this "wasn't her first time". The ferry would take seven hours to make port in Cerulean City.

The sea between Sinnoh and Cerulean was very beautiful. The clean, sprinkling water of the cool, blue ocean gently flowed under and around the ship sides, softly tipping it back and forth. The bright, yellow sun hovered in the sky, and partially covered by a small, puffy cloud illuminated the clear sky. A light breeze was blowing in from the west, cooling down the hot, tropical weather. The sound of Wingull and Pellliper chattering above as they flew overhead soothed the passengers aboard the ship. It was a very pleasant and calm ride.

Late that night Misty and Houndour were relaxing in Misty's cabin. It was a small, one-person room with a single window looking out towards the ocean, a wooden reading table with a blue lamp, and a large bed with orange sheets lying in the corner. Houndour was lying on a makeshift bed made out of two puffy pillows from Misty's cot. The humble room was private enough for Misty and Houndour to talk again without worry.

"So Misty do you mind if I ask you something?" Houndour inquired, resting comfortably on the floor.

"Not at all" Misty calmly answered, sitting up on her bed.

"If you and this Ash guy are such good friends how come you're traveling completely separate from him and why didn't you even meet him during that whole thing?" he asked.

"Well I don't really travel with him" Misty replied.

"Then how do you know him?" Houndour curiously asked, beginning to lick his front paw.

"What I meant was I don't travel with him anymore. I used to be sort of a traveling Pokemon trainer and I met him while I was traveling. Or… caught him, I guess you could say" Misty answered.

"Caught him? What the heck does that mean?" Houndour asked.

"I went fishing by a river and he got caught on the line. I pulled out what I thought was a big fish but instead I got a life long friend" Misty replied reminiscently.

"So you started traveling with him because you pulled him out of a river? What would you have done if you had pulled a brain surgeon out of a river let him cut your head open?" Houndour snickered.

"Well it's a much longer story than that if that's what you mean" Misty laughed, partially amused by Houndour's catty observation.

"Well by all means do tell" Houndour pushed in a rather sarcastically inquisitive voice. "It's not like I have anything better to do than listen to your life story."

"Wait, do you mean that?" Misty asked suspiciously.

"Do I mean what?" Houndour replied puzzled.

"Do you really want me to tell you about my life or are you just being sarcastic to try to be funny?" Misty inquired skeptically.

"Well it is actually true that I really _don't _have anything better to do than listen to your life story. I mean does it look like I'm going anywhere? Although I was over exaggerating my interest in the subject just to cure my own boredom. But seeing as I do owe my life to you I at least owe you my attention. So if you do want to tell me about it I'll listen to it" Houndour answered lengthily but still casually.

"Ok if you say so" Misty shrugged.

"But one more thing" Houndour interrupted raising his paw as though it was an index finger "you'll know when I'm trying to be funny."

For the next couple of hours Misty recollected with Houndour the memories of her life as a traveling Pokemon trainer. She told of all her adventures and experiences in great detail. Houndour didn't respond beyond nodding his head or asking a simple question but he was undoubtedly paying close attention as he heard the story of Misty's travels, many friends, and encountered Pokémon. Her memories manage to kill most of the time of the boat ride. The entire time Houndour seems to be thinking about some deep question but doesn't ask it.

Hours later Misty finishes her long drawn out story of her exiting life and waits for Houndour to respond. He timidly says, "Misty, I have a pretty weird question for you."

"Well what is it Houndour? I've been talking for hours you should get a chance too" Misty calmly replied.

"It might creep you out" Houndour warned.

"Go ahead" Misty beckoned politely.

"Obviously you've been through a lot in your life and experienced a lot of things most people never even dream of but you never mentioned this; have you ever seen anyone die?" he inquired gauntly.

"Have I ever seen anyone die?" Misty repeated befuddled.

"Yeah."

"No I haven't" Mist answered simply.

"Never seen death?" Houndour added.

"No…well I did sort of see a Latios die once. Its body disappeared" Misty uncertainly replied.

"But you have never seen a human die?" Houndour asked, continuing his run of strange death-related questions.

"Uh no, I guess I haven't. Where is this coming from Houndour?" Misty confusedly, but in a nonjudgmental way asked.

"I really don't know" Houndour answered shaking his head. "I have no idea why I would think of something like that. I'm sorry" he added almost guiltily.

"Don't worry it's no big deal" Misty assured.

"But it does actually explain something about you that I didn't get" Houndour stated.

"Really, what's that?" Misty asked curiously.

"Your kindness" Houndour stated, as though it was a simple well-known fact.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mist inquired, not at all understanding what Houndour meant.

"You're innocent, still basically a child. You have leaded an adventurous, wonderful life without dealing with the possible consequences and so, life has been kind to you. Those are really the only kind of people who would go out of their way to help someone like me" Houndour said as casually and calmly as any other statement.

"I'm not exactly sure I agree with you" Misty skeptically replied.

"Really, how so?" Houndour challenged.

"I don't think someone has to be an innocent child to care about others. I think deep down if you're a good person you'll stay that way no matter what happens to you" she argued.

"I would lose my innocence before acting like I know what I would be like after I did if I were you" Houndour said as he laid his head down.

"And just how would I do that?" Misty asked, folding her arms.

"Watch someone you care about die or kill someone. I wouldn't recommend doing either one though" Houndour nonchalantly replied.

"How would you know? Have you ever done those things?" Misty asked.

"I've never killed anyone but I've seen plenty of Pokémon and humans die. That much I can remember about my life" Houndour sighed depressed and with a little anger.

After a long pause Misty told Houndour, "Well you still seem pretty nice for someone who has seen so much."

"Thanks," Houndour started, "but from what I can guess you don't truly stop being innocent until the first time you kill someone and I pray that I never go through that. The first time you see someone die by other means is just when you stop being a child" he finished.

Misty confidently replied, "Well I've never seen someone die I'm not exactly a child anymore."

"Really, you think so? I say you still are" Houndour taunted.

"Prove it" Misty challenged.

"You consider 'damn' a swear word" Houndour replied.

"Watch your mouth!" Misty shouted.

"See what I mean. When life forces you to mature naughty language doesn't seem to be the greatest of life's evils anymore. It especially doesn't with a word as mild as that. That's just a religious word. There are a lot of worse words that many men who have lost their innocence bark all day like Growlithe not caring at all for common courtesy. Maybe the inventors of the Japanese language had it right when they decided not to taboo any words as swears. Which leads me to my next question; why do you, a clearly Japanese girl speak only English?" Houndour asked in a monologue.

At first Misty just stared awed at Houndour confused by the nature of what he said. Finally she answered, "I can speak Japanese too, but for as long as I can remember everyone I ran into preferred to speak English. I guess it's because a lot of tourists come here from America. Do you speak Japanese?"

"Yes" Houndour replied.

"Do you want me to?" Misty asked, striving to be polite.

"I don't care. Talk is talk" Houndour responded.

"Okay then. Since you aren't a child anymore I guess that means you like to use English to curse like a sailor" Misty taunted.

"I haven't spoken to anyone else in English or Japanese in many years. I almost forgot that I could. When I first spoke to you I did it without realizing it. I was just thinking out loud" Houndour explained.

Misty at first did not know what to make of this. She had never met a Pokémonor even a person that was like this. She felt that this was the strangest conversation she had ever had. Houndour's mind was different from anyone else's she had ever spoken to. He had talked about life and death just as casually as he would any other subject. Misty could also tell from the way he spoke though, that he was longing. She knew that he wished he could remember more about his past.

After a long period of silence, as the moon became full in the sky Houndour added slightly friendlier, "I guess I can bite my tongue in front of you to be polite when the urge to cuss strikes."

"Good" Misty chuckled. "It'll take a few more hours to get to Cerulean City; we should get a little sleep. You know you are a very strange Pokemon Houndour" she added still happily.

"So I've heard from the people chasing me out of there yards" Houndour replied in a scoffing manner.

"It's alright. I still like you" Misty complimented. Houndour's ears perked up for a minute and as he drowsily began to fall asleep he said, "You aren't so bad yourself." Misty grinned at this as she lied down in her bed and began to sleep as well.

The next day early in the mourning Misty and Houndour arrived in the port at Cerulean City. They had to travel on foot to Misty's home, but before they did Misty insisted on taking Houndour to the Pokémon Center. There he was treated for his minor injuries and, against his will, given a bath by the Pokemon veterinarian Nurse Joy. According to her Houndour's wounds did not sink any deeper than the flesh and with rest, care and the later exercise he would be just fine. But due to his sorry condition they were at the PokémonCenter for a few hours. Nurse Joy at first after examining Houndour scolded Misty about taking better care of her Pokémon only to be assured that Misty had found Houndour in this condition and swore to nurse him to perfect health. After they left, Misty and Houndour headed for Misty's house.

As they arrived at Misty's home Houndour was amazed when he saw that it was a giant domed aquarium building. Misty's home was the Cerulean City Pokemon gym. From the outside it gave an intimidating first impression. As Houndour stared at it he asked, "This is your home?" Misty nodded in reply as they began to walk towards it. "Well if you sleep here then where do the servants sleep?" Houndour remarked.

Misty answered, "Trust me, I _am_ the servant."

"Can I talk while we're here?" Houndour asked as he and Misty began to walk towards the gym.

"Well…okay but only to my sisters and my friend Tracey, no one else unless I say it's okay" Misty replied warningly.

"Damn!" Houndour muttered under his breath. Misty threw him a piercing stare. "What, 'darn'? I said 'darn'!" Houndour defended.

As Misty and Houndour walked into the Cerulean Gym they were greeted by a tall, thin, blonde, young woman who said in a valley-girl accent, "Misty I'm so glad you're back. Taking care of the gym these past few days has been like so stressful."

"Oh for goodness sake Daisy I was only gone for two measly days and running the gym isn't that hard!" Misty replied defiantly.

"Yes it is. There's like someone challenging me to a battle like every ten minutes and when I was giving a guy a badge I totally broke a nail. And feeding all of the Pokemon takes like so long. I don't know how you can put up with it" Daisy complained.

"Because I have no choice" Misty mumbled inaudibly.

"Like who's your little friend Misty?" Daisy asked, taking notice of Houndour.

"Uh that's Houndour. I found him at the stadium. He was hungry and hurt and needed help" Misty answered less annoyed.

"Well he's awfully cute, but so skinny. He looks starving" Daisy acknowledged.

"I know" Misty replied.

"Why did you bring him home?" Daisy inquired.

"What do you mean why did I bring him home, he was dying and needed my help!" Misty nearly shouted.

"But he's not a water Pokémon so we can't like use him here. You should give him to someone else" Daisy said uncaringly.

"No" Misty protested.

"But like why do you want him if he's all skinny and we can't use him?" Daisy confusedly asked.

"Because…" Misty began.

"…Because I can talk!" Houndour interrupted.

Daisy knelt down and looked at Houndour at eye level. Looking over at a poster advertising a water show that would be performed by the Sensational Sisters (Misty's sisters) at the gym and thinking quickly Houndour added, "Misty though it would be a great new direction for your show to have a talking Pokémon narrator. The talented and beautiful Sensational Sisters, the world's greatest actresses and synchronized swimmers and being narrated by the world's only talking Houndour. People would come from every corner of the world to see it!"

As Daisy stood up she thought for a minute then stood up and said, "Oh my God, that is such a great idea! He can stay Misty."

"Like I needed your permission" Misty mumbled as Daisy walked away.

"You have eh…some small issues with your sisters don't you Misty?" Houndour asked cautiously.

"You could say that. When you're the youngest child in a family with three older sisters it's absolutely impossible to get any respect" Misty grumbled.

"Three? Well you get as much respect as you command" Houndour recited.

"What?" Misty asked, sounding offended.

"To get your sisters to respect you what you need to do is make them respect you" Houndour advised.

Misty replied, "Look Houndour I know you just want to help but this is a family thing and I…"

"Shutting up now" Houndour interjected understandingly.

Misty and Houndour walked through the lobby of the gym into a large room with a giant swimming pool surrounded by fish tanks filled with water Pokemon. The walls were painted blue and decorated with sculptures of majestic water Pokémon such as Lapras. The roof was made entirely out of windows allowing the sunlight to fill the room. At the end of the swimming pool there was a medium-height boy wearing a green T-shirt and writting something on a piece of paper. "Hi Tracey" Misty greeted.

"Oh hey Misty" the boy said as he stood up and walked towards Misty and Houndour.

"_The _Tracey?" Houndour whispered.

"Yeah go ahead and talk. I'm sure he'll get a kick out of it" Misty whispered back.

As Tracey reached Misty he asked, "How was your trip Misty? Did Ash win?"

"It was okay. But Ash lost" Misty replied sadly. "But on the bright side I picked up a new friend" she added pointing to Houndour.

Tracey crouched down to look at Houndour. "That's great Misty!" he said. He then spoke to Houndour saying, "Hey little guy how are you? Do you mind if I draw a picture of you?"

"I'm fine thanks. Go ahead and draw me but just try to catch my good side. I won't even bother telling you what happened to the other side" Houndour replied.

"Are you talking?!" Tracey shouted.

"No of course not are you crazy? Pokémon can't talk! You must have been drinking some pool water or something because you sound like you should be locked up in a nut-house somewhere!" Houndour mocked.

"But…what…how…" Tracey stammered.

"It's okay Tracey you aren't losing it. He really can talk. He's just having a little fun" Misty chuckled.

Tracey stared open-mouthed at Houndour for a few minutes unbelievingly. Houndour finally said, "That's right you're perfectly sane. I am just an amazing, talking Pokémon. Feel free to bask in my glow."

Tracey once again gazed amazedly at Houndour. "Oh my God, I have to draw you now!" Tracey shouted, pulling out a paper and pencil.

"Oh boy, I guess this is what my life is going to be like from now on" Houndour sighed.


	3. Bad Attitude

Guardians of Aura Chapter 3

The anger and pain of his defeat at the Sinnoh League Championship was still stabbing into Ash Ketchum like a thousand rusty knives being driven through his chest. He and his traveling companions Brock and Dawn had been traveling back to Ash's hometown of Pallet after the championship match and the entire journey Ash had barely uttered a word to neither of his friends nor to any of his Pokémon, not even his oldest most loyal friend and Pokémon Pikachu. The entire time spent traveling home, Ash had been just a gaunt shadow sitting in the camps that they slept in at night. Brock and Dawn had, of course, tried to console him but to no avail. He merely ignored or truly didn't hear anything they said. The nature of his mood was strange to his friends, especially to Brock. Brock was one of Ash's oldest friends and had been traveling with him and observing his Pokémon Trainer career for several years now and had watched him compete and loose in tournaments just like this one. Whenever Ash lost he would make it no secret that he was upset but he usually would quickly become okay with it and move on. Despite his out of character reaction it was obvious as to why this time was an exception to Ash's controlled temperament. Paul, the trainer whom Ash had lost to rather than the rivals and friends Ash had been defeated by in the past was a modern-day equivalent of Ash's mortal enemy and to Ash there was no greater shame than defeat at his hands.

Ash was standing in a clearing in a dark-green forest alone. His teeth were clenched and he was grunting angrily. Venting out his fury Ash was slamming his fists into the trunk of an elm tree. The trunk of the tree was fairly hard and with each punch his skin began to split and bruise but the pain of his knuckles did not outweigh the pain Ash already felt. There was a small rustle in the bushes behind him as Ash's friends came looking for him. "I think he came through here" a voice shouted

A blue-haired, thin girl wearing a black blouse and pink skirt followed by a tall, tan-skinned young man wearing a black and orange vest emerged from the bushes to gaze in shock at what Ash was doing to himself. As Dawn and Brock advanced on him Ash did not notice them or interrupt his steady stream of angry strikes.

"Ash, what are you doing?!" Dawn yelled. Ash ignored her.

Running up and grabbing Ash's arms with his own Brock yelled, "You're going to hurt yourself!"

Ash struggled to break free and suddenly burst, "Get the hell off of me!" throwing his arms down.

"Ash, calm down!" Dawn shouted, bemused by her friends rage.

"Shut up!" Ash retaliated. Dawn merely gasped in astonished dismay.

"What is wrong with you?!" Brock asked irately.

"Leave me alone!" Ash furiously replied. He turned around and walked downhill towards a river.

"What on earth has gotten into him?" Brock asked as Ash disappeared.

"I don't know but I'm going to find out" Dawn declared as she began to follow Ash.

"No" Brock said as he tugged on Dawn's shoulder to stop her. "You'll just make him angrier. He needs time to cool off on his own."

As Ash arrived at the river he began mumbling a steady stream of inaudible obscenities and other expressions of grief while violently kicking the shallow water. "Lousy disgusting Paul, I hate him! Always mocking and humiliating me! Why can't I beat him?!

As Ash threw his right foot forward in an especially long kick he yelled, "Why the hell do I always lose?!" Ash roared in pain when his foot struck something hard as he kicked up a large wave of water. He felt the object he hit fly through the air and land on a rock in the center of the river. Ash limped over to the rock to examine the object, his right foot still smarting from the kick. He picked up the object that had been booted out of the river. It was a small, blue, triangular stone with the tip pointing down that had a silver necklace tied through a hole near the top of it. The stone let off a faint glow as Ash's hand touched it.

Back in Cerulean City while Ash was traveling home Houndour had been adjusting well to life at Misty's Pokémon gym. He followed Misty around the gym keeping her company while she did her chores and helping her when he could. He became accustomed to watching Misty battle challengers of the gym and hand out badges to eager trainers. Early on he learned to refrain from speaking in front of strangers such as the trainers without problem. He made it known that he hated having to do this but he made no attempt to disobey Misty's request. He also did a good job of politely not swearing in front of Misty. He did theses things that annoyed him out of gratitude for the great care Misty had given him. Within two weeks of living with her any injuries that had fatigued him were healed and his ribs became invisible under a small layer of healthy fat. His personality remained mostly intact other than taking a _slightly_ happier tone.

A friendship had definitely formed between Misty and Houndour. Houndour went with Misty almost everywhere she went as per neither one of their suggestions but it was nonverbally understood that they both wanted it that way. Misty also enjoyed her conversations with Houndour. He added a unique perspective to things and Misty always felt safer speaking to him than anyone else. She could talk to him about any problem she had and even though he couldn't always pretend to be interested in some things he did always definitely, listen.

One day Misty was cleaning the sides of the fish tanks with a large brush while she had another conversation with Houndour, with her baby water-mouse Pokémon Azurill standing next to him. "Okay here's another one" Houndour started, "if you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?"

"Paris France" Misty longingly replied "the most romantic city on earth" she added, placing a dainty had over her heart and closing her eyes dreamingly.

"France huh?" Houndour questioned.

"What's wrong with that?" Misty asked.

"Nothing" Houndour started. "You know good food, nice cities…the people can get so mad that they had one of the bloodiest revolutions in the history of the planet, but hey who am I to judge?" Misty got a short laugh out of that.

"You sure know a lot about humans for a Pokémon" Misty cheerfully acknowledged.

"When you speak the language it's just a matter of knowing who to listen to" Houndour shrugged.

"How many languages do you speak?" Misty inquired to continue the conversation.

"I don't remember. If I had to guess just Japanese and English" Houndour answered calmly.

"You really can't remember your past can't you?" Misty asked with her voice containing sympathy.

"No I can't" Houndour replied with his usual air of normality though with a small, barely detectable trace of contempt.

"Can you at least remember why you forgot?" Misty posed curiously.

"No" Houndour said shaking his head with his eyes squinting. "You have no idea how much I wish that I could remember at least that."

"I'm sorry Houndour" Misty said comfortingly.

"Don't worry about it it's not like it's your fault" Houndour said, his casualness returning.

"Believe me there are times when I wish I could forget parts of my past. I would trade you any day if it wasn't for the years when I had been traveling with Ash and Brock" Misty told Houndour as she began to scrub the fish tanks with a rougher stroke.

"Is it more of those sibling rivalry things with your sisters?" Houndour asked almost fearfully.

"Yes" Misty replied with a small hint of anger.

"Out of curiosity what exactly do your sisters do? I mean I've been here a few weeks and I haven't seen one of them hang around here for more than an hour since the first day I got here" Houndour inquired.

"I take care of the gym, the challenges, the cleaning, and feeding the Pokémon and they do whatever the heck they want" Misty replied contemptuously.

"Oh" Houndour stated as he realized that he had struck a nerve.

"They get to go out and play around all day modeling, acting and fooling around with guys they don't even know well while I have to stay here all day doing heaven knows what to keep this gym running, with almost no help" Misty complained.

"Well if you hate it so much than why do you let them do this do you?" Houndour asked judgingly.

"I don't hate it I just…" Misty uncertainly started.

"Yes?" Houndour egged on.

Misty added, "I just hate that my sisters always think they can always take advantage of me while they get to live the lives they want. I love running the gym I just wish that I had…" she paused uncertainly.

"Chosen it for yourself?" Houndour finished.

"Yeah" Misty agreed.

"Misty, the only way to know if the place you're in is _your _place is if you chose it. If you don't want to be here you shouldn't. From what you've told me your sisters aren't doing anything better with their lives than taking care of the gym. Just tell them to grow up and start acting responsible because you want to live your life the way you choose" Houndour advised.

"I can't do that" Misty nearly whispered.

"Why the heck not?" Houndour asked.

"They're my family. Even if they did make me stop traveling before I was ready I just can't turn around and say I'm not there when they need me" Misty sighed.

"They don't need you here they just want you here to do the manual labor they don't want to do. You told me the story of when they made you take over the gym. They didn't even ask you if it was okay. This isn't what families do to each other" Houndour pointed out.

"Even if that's true I can't have the only family I have end up hating me" Misty replied.

"Only family? What about your parents?" Houndour cautiously asked.

"I never knew them" Misty answered sadly.

"They are uh…deceased?" Houndour sensitively asked.

"I don't know for sure. I keep asking my sisters what happened to them and they always say they'll tell me when I'm older, but I'm never old enough" Misty responded hollowly.

Houndour was completely mortified by this statement, "That's awful…horrible! Even if they're dead you have a right to know what happened to your own parents. They have no right to shield you from the truth…uh wait how old did you say you were?"

"I turn fourteen in a few weeks" Misty answered calmly.

"Then they had no right to shield you from the truth like some small child!" Houndour concluded.

"Houndour, can we please stop talking about this?" Misty asked quietly.

Houndour then finally noticed the expression on Misty's face. She wasn't crying but her eyes were widened and appeared to have a small amount of tears in them, and she was frowning sadly.

"Oh, oh, I am so sorry! Here I am upset about not remembering anything and I've got to bring up all these bad memories and throw them in your face. Please forgive me" Houndour beckoned.

"It's okay Houndour, you're just trying to help" Misty assured.

"It's still none of my business" Houndour replied. He then asked, "You said your friend Ash came home today right?" Misty nodded. "Come on let's go visit him. It'll take our minds of our problems." Misty nodded again, her face once again adopting a smile.

For Misty and Houndour the walk to Pallet Town took no more than a few hours. The weather was calm and sunny and they were able to keep up a brisk pace. The sad undertone they had taken from their previous conversation did not remain with them as they merrily strolled down the dirt road through the lush green forests. Misty kept Azurill in its Pokéball so it could rest. "I sure hope this Ash guy is in a better mood than the first time I saw him" Houndour remarked as they were halfway to Pallet.

"Yeah me too" Misty agreed.

At about noon Misty and Houndour arrived inside the quaint little town of Pallet. There were a few other people walking through the town exchanging greetings and sharing gossip and news as Misty and Houndour proceeded to Ash's house. Finally they arrived at a small, white house with a mailbox that on the side had "Ketchum" written on it. "Cute little place. Nice garden" Houndour complimented as he nodded towards a small vegetable patch in the front yard.

"That's vey nice of you to say Houndour" a gentle voice said that seemed to come from the house. The source of the voice was a young woman standing at the front door of the house. The woman was Delia Ketchum, Ash's mother.

"Uh…you're welcome" Houndour uncertainly replied. "Aren't you astounded that I can talk?" he added slowly.

"Misty called ahead and told me all about you" Delia replied smiling.

"You…you told her?" Houndour asked shocked, while throwing a glance towards Misty.

"Of course I did, she is my best friend's mother" Misty tranquilly replied.

"Oh man, I'm not going to get shock value from these people then!" Houndour whined. Misty and Delia chuckled at this.

"It's nice to see you again Mrs. Ketchum" Misty greeted as she walked up to the door.

"Thank you. It's always a pleasure to have you visiting Misty" Delia warmly replied.

Mrs. Ketchum lead Misty and Houndour into her living room where on a large couch Ash's other friends Brock and Dawn were resting comfortably. In the corner of the room Delia's neurotic Mr. Mime was sweeping dust from a carpet. Taking notice of Misty quickly Brock rose from the couch and greeted happily, "Misty it's great to see you." The two old friends exchanged a short hug.

"It's nice to see you again too."

"Misty this is Dawn" Brock said, motioning his hand to the girl on the couch.

"Nice to meet you" Dawn said as she stood up.

"The pleasure's all mine. I hope Ash's Pikachu didn't fry your bike too" Misty taunted in a friendly tone.

"Uh yeah it actually did" Dawn replied bemused. At that moment a yellow mouse with black streaks across its back emerged from behind the couch happily bellowing a "Pika" as it rose and ran towards Misty.

"Hi there Pikachu" Misty said as she rubbed the electric mouse on the head.

"I suppose that Misty already told you that I can talk" Houndour guessed as he called attention to himself.

"No" Brock answered. Houndour's ears perked up at another opportunity to cause mischief.

"Mrs. Ketchum did" Dawn finished.

"Oh."

Suddenly Mr. Mime walked over to Houndour and began bellowing a steady stream of "Mimes" in communication to Houndour as it swept the ground at his feet.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Houndour defensively asked. Mr. Mime continued blabbering. "What do you mean did I wipe my feet? No you are not giving me a bath!" Mr. Mime then exclaimed his next indecipherable sentence. "Hey, do I bad mouth your fat, ugly mama?" Houndour snapped.

"Houndour apologize!" Misty ordered.

"But he started it" Houndour protested.

"Now!" Misty exclaimed.

"I'm sorry" Houndour reluctantly apologized to Mr. Mime. The psychic Pokémon seemed to give some indication of forgiveness before he walked away.

"Sorry about that Mrs. Ketchum" Misty said embarrassed.

"Oh it's all right Misty" Delia reassured.

"Anyway where's Ash?" Misty asked eagerly.

"He's…uh up in his room" Delia stammered.

"Well I'll go see him, I want him to meet Houndour" Misty keenly stated.

"I don't know if that is a good idea Misty" Brock cautioned.

"Why not?" Misty asked.

"He's been in a really bad mood since he lost" Dawn informed. Pikachu and Ash's mother nodded in confirmation of this.

"He is? Well I'll see if I can't cheer him up" Misty replied.

"Go ahead and try but don't say we didn't warn you" Brock said as Misty disappeared up the stairs.

When Misty and Houndour reached the closed door leading into Ash's room Misty told Houndour, "Wait out here. I want to catch up with him for a few minutes before he meets you."

Houndour nodded and said, "All right but don't keep him waiting, because I'm a real great ice-breaker." Misty disappeared through the door and for about five minutes Houndour could hear through the wall a flow of uneasy conversation, shouting, and an occasional swear word.

Misty erupted back from behind the door shouting, "That jerk! I can't believe he has the nerve to talk to me like that!" She stomped down the stairs in a fury.

Houndour peaked in through the halfway open door to get a look at Ash and was befuddled by what he saw him playing with in his hands. It was the stone necklace Ash had found on his way home in the mountains the day before. As Houndour stared at the blue stone he could not pull away his gaze as he was in a trance-like state.

"Yes. Yes, I understand what must be done" Houndour said hypnotically.

"Houndour, we are leaving!" Misty shouted. Houndour grudgingly pulled himself away from the door and ran downstairs.

As he reached the living room and saw the front door open Houndour could here Delia beckon, "I'm so sorry Misty." Houndour ran out the door and caught up to Misty who was trudging away with unmatchable anger.

"What the heck happened?" Houndour asked, catching his breath.

"'Heck'? I wish Ash had been polite enough to use that word! I swear I have never in my life met anyone that was so rude and insensitive!" Misty hollered.

"Whoa, that's not how I pictured him in those stories you told me about him" Houndour replied.

"He wasn't acting like he did when those stories were happening" Misty sighed.

As he and Misty put more distance between them and Ash's house Houndour stopped walking dead in his tracks. An invisible rope was pulling at his mind not letting him walk any further. His thoughts turned back to the crystal.

"What's wrong?" Misty asked.

"We can't leave" Houndour stated in a rooted, unshakable tone.

"Why shouldn't we? Ash was…"

"He needs friends in this time of confusion and pain. And it's rude to walk out on your other friends and your host" Houndour interjected confidently.

"Oh, all right, I'll stay and catch up with Brock but I'm not talking to Ash again" Misty replied.

"I'm not asking you to. I'll speak with him" Houndour suggested.

"What can you do?" Misty asked, confused.

"You would be surprised. Just give me some time alone with him and I think I can straighten him out. My methods are probably…different than yours. We shall see if they work any better" Houndour said.

"Well okay but don't expect a warm welcome from him today" Misty warned.

"That's good, I'm not used to them" Houndour replied sarcastically as he unexpectedly ran over to, and jumped onto a rafter on Ash's house and then made the long leap up into and through the open window leading to Ash's room.

"How did he do that?" Misty wondered as she walked back inside the house.

As Houndour entered Ash's room he took a quick surveillance to take in his surroundings. Ash's room was filled with many Pokémon decorations and merchandise such as a Zubat mobile wheel and Clefairy piggy-banks. On a large bed with a blue Pokéball bedspread laid Ash, twirling the necklace in his hands.

Not caring if Ash knew he could talk Houndour said, "So you're the famous Ash Ketchum whom I've heard so much about. I must say this would be quite the honor if you hadn't just chased my friend off with your foul temperament. Where exactly do you get off being so rude?"

Ash turned his head slightly to look at Houndour not saying anything and not appearing shocked. "Oh, I guess from your lack of surprise you've either heard of me or are too busy wallowing in self-pity to care that a talking Pokémon is staring you in the face" Houndour teased.

"I've heard of you. Now get the hell out of my room" Ash bluntly commanded.

"Oh, oh my lord, he said the dreaded 'h' word! Somebody wash his mouth out with soap!" Houndour sarcastically mocked. He continued, "I know your type kid. You were a good boy who never even thought of using the tabooed words and then you go along and get your feelings hurt and suddenly you start mouthing of like a sailor because you think swearing makes you tough or manly and gets some kind of point across that makes people respect you. And you don't care if those words hurt the feelings of the people around you. But so as not to be rude I guess I shall join in the inappropriate fun." He then eyed the necklace in Ash's hand again and pointing his paw to it asked, "Where the hell did you get that?"

Ash sat up, still not saying anything but locked his eyes on Houndour suspiciously as he began to walk towards him. "That amulet does not belong to you. You should give it to me" Houndour advised. Ash clenched the necklace tightly in his fist. The stone began to glow a translucent blue light as Ash's skin touched it and Houndour's eyes widened. "You are rude to your friends, a curser, and now a thief? I must say my first impression of you is not persuading me to respect you Ash Ketchum" Houndour taunted. "But perhaps I can change that!" he shouted as he lunged forward and snapped his fangs on Ash's right hand. Ash yelled in pain as Houndour's sharp teeth scraped his skin and he dropped the necklace. Luckily the bite didn't break the skin.

"See ya" Houndour said as he picked up the necklace and threw it over his head onto his neck. As Ash grudgingly threw Houndour a piercing stare of fury Houndour turned around and jumped back out the window. As Houndour fell he slid down across the rafter and landed gracefully on the ground. Surprisingly Houndour could hear a thud as Ash clumsily landed on the ground behind him in an ill-conceived pursuit attempt.

"Defenestrating yourself, really? Wouldn't you prefer the door?" Houndour mocked. Ash lunged at him in an effort to get the necklace back but Houndour dodged him.

"Give me that back!" Ash yelled.

"If you want it you have to catch me!" Houndour challenged as he began running off towards the hills. Ash relentlessly followed the quadruped sprinter, not allowing Houndour's superior running ability to put great distance between him and the stone. After ten minutes the chase had Houndour leading Ash up a small mountain through many trees. As Ash nearly caught him Houndour bustled into a small hole in a clearing in the mountain that led to a deep cave.

As Ash entered the cave he began coughing as the effort of keeping up his chase with Houndour took its toll on his heart and lungs. After catching his breath he ran through the tunnels of the cave until he saw Houndour sitting on the ground in a large room-like tunnel at the end of the cave without the necklace.

"I hoped I would find you in here" Houndour said to someone Ash could not see.

Ash walked deeper into the cave and suddenly saw a tall, old man wearing gray robes holding the necklace glowing in his right hand.

The man pointed his left index finger to Ash and suspiciously asked, "Who on earth are you?"


	4. A Dark Past

Guardians of Aura Chapter 4

Ash merely stood awestruck at the sight he was seeing as opposed to answering the old man's question. He was in a gigantic and strange cave. All around the room of this chamber of the cave hung swords, paintings and other artifacts and there were several tunnels leading into similar rooms. The old man himself was also unusual in that he was wearing black and grey kimono robes. Ash had seen people where kimonos at festivals and parties but never as a part of regular dress. Unlike Ash Houndour appeared to be completely comfortable with the strange place.

"I shall ask you again. Who are you?" the old man repeated in a heavy yet understandable Japanese accent. Ash still gave no answer. He then repeated his question in Japanese as a precaution but it did not loosen Ash's tongue.

"Show some respect for your elders, answer him!" Houndour barked. Ash remained soundless.

"His name is Ash Ketchum. He's a Pokémon trainer. He lives in the town at the bottom of this hill" Houndour explained impatiently.

"How did you find this place?" the man asked once again directing to Ash in another attempt to get him to speak.

When Ash said nothing Houndour replied, "He followed me here."

"You knew you were being followed and you still came here?" the old man angrily asked.

"I lead him here on purpose" Houndour clarified.

"What possible reason could you have for brining him here?" the old man asked with a small amount of fear.

"It told me to" Houndour obediently replied motioning his paw towards the triangular prism in the old man's hand.

"Why would the Tree of Beginning command that this boy be brought here?" the old man asked hushed and with shock. Ash's eyes widened and his ears listened more closely at the mention of the Tree of Beginning.

"He has the Gift, Kamikaze" Houndour explained, finally saying the old man's name.

"Are…are you sure?!" the old man named Kamikaze nearly shouted.

"The Stone of Aura glows at his touch" Houndour elaborated pointing again towards the necklace.

"That…is impossible!" the old man exclaimed.

"That is not the most shocking part my friend. He is Satoshi's son" Houndour replied delicately.

After a long pause of unmatchable surprise the old man whispered, "That cannot be."

"Delia Ketchum is his mother" Houndour added.

"The same one?" Kamikaze asked.

"I would bet my life on it" Houndour answered.

"Then he is Satoshi's" the old man gasped.

Finally speaking Ash asked, "Wait! How do you know my father's name?"

The old man Kamikaze walked towards Ash slowly and with a gentle but bemused voice answered, "Because your father is my son. If what Houndour has told me is true then I am your grandfather."

Ash's heart began to race as his eyes opened wider than they ever had in his life and a giant lurch formed in the pit of his stomach. "You're my…my grandfather?"

"Yes. My name is Kamikaze Tajiri" the old man simply stated. Ash now noticed a resemblance between him and Kamikaze. The old man's eyes looked virtually the same as Ash's and his spiky, white hair looked as though it had been dark black in his youth like Ash's.

Ash's shock made him immediately forget about his anger as he gazed open-mouthed at his apparent grandfather. So surprised at this discovery Ash barely had enough composure to ask, "Why haven't I met you before?"

"That is a good question, but I am not sure that I should be the one to answer it" Kamikaze replied.

"The boy has a right to know" Houndour argued.

"Very well, Ash do you know why you have grown up without your father?" Kamikaze asked.

"He died" Ash replied quietly.

"It is predictable that your mother told you that, though it isn't a complete lie" Kamikaze shrugged.

"What do you mean?" Ash questioned. The old man merely sighed at some inner pain.

Houndour answered for the old man explaining, "Your father is dead but it was not his death that separated him from you. In fact he might have never died if he hadn't separated."

"What?" Ash replied startled.

"Ash don't you wonder why your last name is different from your grandfather's?" Houndour asked. Ash nodded.

"It is because your parents have never been married" Kamikaze interrupted. Ash gasped in horror.

"I don't understand" Ash breathed.

Kamikaze turned around and began pacing as he explained, "They were dating. I believe that they were in love but they were also young and naïve." He took a pause, "_It_ was his idea. It was against her objections but he was persistent. Your mother knew it was a bad idea but...in your father's defense he did not force her and she was willing when the time came. It was for…pleasure but what they did not expect and ignored the fear of happened; your mother became pregnant. Your father couldn't handle the magnitude of what had happened and abandoned your mother, and you."

Ash stood for a minute silent at what he had heard. Finally he densely asked, "What was his idea?"

"What do you mean?" Kamikaze replied perplexed by his grandson's ignorance.

"What did they do?" Ash questioned.

Houndour interrupted, "Oh boy he doesn't even know about…eh. Ash listen for a few minutes while I explain procreation ."

A few minutes later Ash stood mortified not from what Houndour had explained but from realizing the full extent of his parents' sin.

"Now you understand?" Kamikaze asked gingerly. Ash nodded his head gauntly.

"Your mother was so kind and innocent I never thought that…And as for your father I thought that I had raised him to have better judgment" Kamikaze sighed. "I always thought that their dating was so innocent and harmless, I even thought that they were going to get married" he added as he shook his head with tears forming in but not escaping from his eyes.

"Why didn't you help my mom raise me?" Ash asked when his distress wore off enough for him to speak.

"I wanted to help you Ash, believe me. But when it happened I lost contact with Satoshi and Delia's parents were so ashamed of her they made her move and broke all ties with her. I searched this entire island looking for you but I made the idiots' mistake of looking for you only under your father's name!" Kamikaze replied nearly weeping. The old man walked over to Ash and placed his hands on his shoulders. His hands were surprisingly warm and strong for one as old as him. Warmly he told Ash, "I never thought that you would be living this close to me."

With a small amount of happiness Kamikaze said, "So I guess that my grandson has the Gift."

"What is the Gift?" Ash asked his sadness also diminishing.

"You have the ability to control and influence the power of your Aura do you not?" his grandfather asked.

"I do" Ash replied astonished.

"How is that? In order for the stone to tell of your power you would have to have already journeyed to the Tree of Beginning and used it" Kamikaze inquired.

"I have" Ash stated simply.

"Oh, my, that is…interesting" the old man replied astonished.

"He must be trained" Houndour said after an awkward pause.

"What?" Kamikaze replied.

"The boy has no father. It is your duty to…" Houndour began.

"My duty, I do not see what you mean" Kamikaze replied defensively.

"With Satoshi dead you two are the only Aura users still living, if he is not trained then the ways will die out" Houndour argued.

"You can use Aura?" Ash asked wondorously. His grandfather nodded.

"This is not the time of the samurai my old friend it is not as if we need trained Guardians of Aura ready for battle at a moments notice" Kamikaze protested.

"The samurai are remembered in spirit by their legacy and through the marital artists who practice their traditions and learn the Way of the Warrior. If you allow the teachings of the Guardians to die with you they will not enjoy the same afterlife" Houndour protested.

"I do not see how this is my responsibility I…" Kamikaze began.

"Houndour interrupted, "As the last fully trained Guardian of Aura alive it is your job to keep the ways of the Guardians alive. 'Each generation must pass on what they know to the next, it is how we survive', you know this Guardian saying your father swore by it!"

Kamikaze still argued, "He is too old to begin training. Before he can be trained as a Guardian he must be trained as a samurai and samurai training must start at birth."

"Many of the greatest most powerful Daimyo were self-proclaimed samurai who rose to great power without being of noble birth or beginning their training as soon as they could walk" Houndour pointed out.

Houndour then turned to Ash and said, "Look at this boy Kamikaze. He is all that is left of the Guardians, your legacy and your family. Is he not worth giving a chance?"

"I can't do what you are asking of me" Kamikaze gauntly answered.

"Why can't you?" Houndour inquired.

"I have proven myself a failure as a father and a teacher once; I cannot go through that again" the old man replied decrepitly.

"What Satoshi did is not your fault" Houndour argued.

Kamikaze hollowly replied, "Yes it was. I was his father it was my job to teach him the difference between right and wrong and to choose right."

"Well then, I guess this is your chance to redeem yourself" Houndour started. "Even if you don't train him you can still offer this boy the wisdom and guidance that he never received from his father. Do not punish him for his parents' sin by denying him a grandfather after he has already been denied a father" he finished.

Sighing defeated Kamikaze turned to Ash and said, "Ash I cannot choose this for you but I do have a duty to you as your grandfather so if you want this I'll give it to you." He paused and in a compassionate voice asked, "Do you want me to train you to be a Guardian of Aura?"

Ash stood still for a few instances taking in what he had heard. "I don't know" he answered hesitantly.

"I understand. You need to think about this. You're dealing with so much all at once. But know this; we are family and I am here if you need me. I won't try to take the place of your father and I won't give help without being asked. I realize that you must be accustomed to your life the way it is. I won't seek you out but you can come back here if you ever want to" Ash's grandfather explained. After a pause he sympathetically said, "I will understand if you never do."

"I'll visit" Ash decided.

"Well, that is nice. Do you have any questions about your family?" Kamikaze asked tentatively.

"Where is my grandmother?" Ash asked.

"Dead; of natural cause" his grandfather answered. Reminiscently he added, "Too bad you couldn't meet her. No woman has ever been truer, braver, kinder or more beautiful."

When Ash didn't respond Kamikaze asked, "Is that all?" Ash nodded.

"Well then you should get home. I wouldn't want you mother to worry" Kamikaze completed casually.

Ash raised an eyebrow and stated, "You don't seem as mad at my mother as at my father from the way you talk about them."

Kamikaze replied, "I didn't raise her. Not to mention though she may have shared in your father's crime she raised you despite how hard it was. I forgave her a long time ago."

"What about my father?" Ash asked. Kamikaze couldn't bring himself to answer.

"How did he die?" Ash inquired.

"He was killed by an Ursaring, in these very mountains" Kamikaze skeletally replied.

"What?" Ash whispered.

"While I was hiking I found his body inside of a ripped-up tent and all of his food stolen. It was the first time I had seen him since he had run away and I didn't know why he was there." Kamikaze gravely replied shaking his head. "I know it was an Ursaring because of the tracks leading away from the camp."

Ash noticed the mortified expression on his grandfather's face and concluded, "I guess I'd better go." The old man nodded.

"I should too" Houndour added nervously.

"What? You aren't staying here?" Kamikaze asked.

"I have recently uh…taken up lodgings with a nice Pokémon trainer who I have been living with for two weeks now" Houndour explained. He then added, "While I was wondering around aimlessly as a stray she took me into her home and gave me food and a home."

"And she captured you in a Pokéball?" the old man inquired.

"No but I was within an inch of starvation. I owe her a life debt" Houndour elucidated.

"A debt not easily repaid. I understand old friend. But one question, if you were starving why did you not come here?" Kamikaze asked.

"I had been stricken with amnesia until very recently." Houndour answered.

"Then how did you remember this place?" Kamikaze questioned.

"The stone restored my memory so I could bring Ash here" Houndour reverently replied.

"Where did you get that Stone of Aura anyway? They aren't exactly common" the old man asked.

"Ask him, he's the one who found it" Houndour said as he nodded his head towards Ash.

"Another time, I have assaulted his mind with too much to think about already" Ash's grandfather replied as he made a motion with his hand dismissing Ash and Houndour while saying, "Good bye."

"Bye" Ash said as Houndour lead him out of the cave.

Ash and Houndour descended down the hill much slower than they had climbed up. Rather than his thoughts being on the anger that had plagued him before Ash's mind dwelled on what he had been talking about and Houndour allowed him the silence he needed. Finally on his own to no one in particular Ash said, "That was…weird. I've never thought about having family other than my mom."

Houndour calmly replied, "Kamikaze is a great man. He will make a good grandfather if you let him."

After a pause Houndour asked, "Satoshi Tajiri, the man we spoke of was indeed your father right?" Ash merely nodded. "I am sorry that you had to find out this way." Ash sighed in acknowledgement. "We aren't trying to make you grow up hating your father. He was a good person he just made an impulsive mistake." Ash just nodded.

"Will you learn the ways of Aura?" Houndour asked.

"I'm not sure" Ash quietly replied. "I am interested but I don't want to give up my Pokémon journey."

"I understand. You must do what you love" Houndour casually responded.

As Ash and Houndour descended down the hill Ash was surprised that the sun had begun to set as his house became visible in the horizon. Maneuvering through the cave and his conversation with his grandfather as well as traveling down the hill had taken longer than Ash had thought.

As they advanced on Ash's home Houndour told Ash, "You know, you really should apologize to them."

"What?" Ash replied.

"You hurt Misty's feelings and if I had to guess the feelings of your other two friends and your mother. No matter what your reasons were for being upset you had no right to unleash your anger on others. They are like Kamikaze, the problem is not their fault and they just care for your well-being" Houndour explained.

His feelings of rage and resentment having been replaced by the amazement for everything he had learned Ash was once again thinking sensibly and he sighed, "You're right."

"Well see there we all can be rational human-beings can't we?" Houndour remarked. Ash laughed shortly at this sarcastic comment. "Finally I get a smile out of you!"

When Ash and Houndour arrived at his house the door was opened partially. Ash felt embarrassed hesitation when opening the door. Apparently guessing his emotions Houndour said, "I'll go in first" as he walked through the door.

"Honey I'm home!" Houndour mockingly called as he entered the door.

Sitting on the couch with Brock and Dawn Misty replied, "It's about time Houndour. Where on earth did you go?"

"Nature walk" Houndour nonchalantly shrugged. Ash then emerged from behind the door. "Hi everyone" he quietly greeted. A scowl appeared on Misty's face when she saw Ash and everyone else appeared nervous.

"Uh…hi Ash" Dawn replied to break the silence.

As he stood at the door with his head pointed down towards the ground Ash said, "Listen everyone I'm sorry for…for how I've been acting. Just because I was mad doesn't mean I had the…the right to treat all of you like that."

Walking in from the other room Ash's mother replied warmly, "That's all right honey. We're just glad you're feeling better" as she lead him into the living room.

Misty then walked over to Houndour, who was smiling triumphantly and asked him proudly, "How on earth did you do that?"

"Oh, a Pokémon has its ways" Houndour shrugged as happy conversation began.


	5. They Only Want to Help

Guardians of Aura Chapter 5

Ash was resting soundly in his bed the next mourning when he awoke to the sight of Houndour sitting at his window. "Good morning Ash" the canine Pokémon greeted.

"Uh…hi, what are you doing here?" Ash asked.

"I had to catch you before you spoke to anyone else today" Houndour answered.

"Why?" Ash drowsily questioned.

"It is best that you do not discuss what you learned yesterday with anyone besides me or your grandfather" Houndour directed.

"Why?" Ash replied confused.

"For starters memories of your father's abandonment must be horrible for your mother and…it is better that nobody knows where Kamikaze lives" Houndour explained.

"Why? Is there a reason that he has to hide in that cave?" Ash asked now waking up.

"The ways of the Guardians must remain secret to all but those who are allowed to practice them. Such is tradition. Even if you never receive training I expect you to have enough respect for your ancestry to honor that" Houndour pressed.

"I won't tell anyone" Ash promised.

"Good" Houndour said with a smile as he walked towards the door. He turned around and said, "Your mother is making pancakes for breakfast. I actually came up here because she sent me to tell you that."

As he disappeared behind the door he beckoned, "But I was serious. Don't tell anyone."

"Wait!" Ash called. Houndour came back through the door. "Yes?" Houndour replied. "Did you know my parents when they were dating?" Ash asked quietly.

"Yes I did. They were a good couple. They loved each other more than any two people I have ever seen" Houndour replied reminiscently. Houndour carefully added, "If you have the need to talk about it with anyone you should with me. I was not Satoshi's father so it is not as painful for me as with Kamikaze and I spent more time with them when they were together than he did. Though I only spoke with your grandfather and father."

Houndour remained in the room sensing Ash's continued curiosity and kicked the door closed with his back, left foot.

"How is it that you can talk Houndour?" Ash inquisitively asked.

"That is hard to explain. Your grandfather had power of Aura so we could talk to each other telepathically before I could talk. Something you must understand is that Pokémon and humans speak differently. Pokémon don't really speak to each other they read each others emotions and notice the tempo in each others' voices and just sort of sense what others are saying. That is why Pokémon can understand humans and humans can't understand Pokémon. As I used my mind to talk with your grandfather I came to realize that every word he said had meaning instead of them conglomerating to form his single emotions and I eventually began to think back with words instead of emotions like he did. Later I mimicked what he did with his lips and…I could talk" Houndour wonderingly answered.

Ash thought deeply about what Houndour said and bade, "Tell mom I'll be downstairs in a few minutes."

Houndour smiled as leapt to open the door with his front paws and disappeared behind it. Ash changed out of his pajamas, got dressed and walked down the stairs after Houndour into the kitchen. Ash's mother was holding a skillet in her right hand and a spatula in the other. Inside the pan was a sweet-smelling warm, pancake in the shape of a Pikachu.

"Good morning sleepyhead" Ash's mother greeted as she slid a pancake onto his plate as he sat down at the table.

"Hi mom" he sleepily replied.

"Thank you for fetching him Houndour" Delia said as she noticed Houndour walking into the living room.

"Sure thing Ms. Ke...uh Mrs. Ketchum" Houndour stuttered.

When Ash's mother returned to the sink and started running warm water Ash whispered to Houndour, "Just what was that?"

Houndour whispered back, "It was just a little bit easier acting calm around her when I didn't remember who she was" as he disappeared into the living room.

As Houndour entered the living room Misty, Brock and Dawn were once again on the couch this time with the TV turned on. Houndour sat on the carpet next to Pikachu.

"Did Ash finally wake up?" Brock posed. Ash had been awakened hours after everyone else.

"Yep" Houndour answered shortly.

"I'm glad he's feeling better. It was scary how mad he was before" Dawn pointed out. Everyone other than Houndour nodded in agreement.

"What did you say to get him to calm down anyway Houndour?" Misty asked.

"What?" Houndour asked attempting to hide his nervous reaction.

"How did you get Ash to stop being mad?" Misty reiterated.

"Uh…you know the tranquility of nature and a nice little chat that'll calm anyone down" Houndour vaguely replied.

"What did you talk about?" Misty innocently questioned.

"Life" Houndour replied calmly and not technically lying.

"Okay, would you mind being more specific?" Misty asked.

Houndour was tempted to say 'yes' but realized the suspicion it would cast on him. He did also realize that if he continued to circumvent the question even more suspicion would arise and the truth that must remain secret could be unveiled.

"We talked about how even though he was mad he had no right to unleash his anger on people he cared about" Houndour recounted as he remembered walking back to the house with Ash.

"And that worked? He listened even though he was mad?" Misty asked.

"I just have that effect on people. It's much easier to talk to someone of a different species about personal stuff" Houndour casually replied.

"That's not that personal you just gave him advice" Dawn pointed out.

"Well it was much longer and deeper than that if that is what you mean" Houndour replied now straining to keep his nonchalant vocal and facial expressions.

"Well it seems like you're trying to keep us in the dark about something" Brock acknowledged.

"Yeah what are you hiding Houndour?" Misty curiously asked.

"I'm not hiding anything I just…" Houndour started.

Ash appeared in the living room and interrupted, "I'm going for a walk if anyone wants to come."

Taking this opportunity Houndour beamed, "Good idea Ash I need some fresh air" as he ran towards the door after him with Pikachu following.

It was very pleasant that morning in Pallet Town. The sun was shining brightly and there was a light breeze creating the perfect temperature. The grass and plants were all bright green and there was a feeling of happiness created by this natural peace.

"Thanks for the save Ash" Houndour said when he was sure there were no humans in ear-shot.

"No problem. But I think maybe I'm not the one we need to worry about blowing our cover" Ash nagged.

"I couldn't get them to stop asking me about it they were like a hoard of blood-sucking leeches!" Houndour defended.

"You could have said that we agreed not to talk about it. It's better than trying to fake your way out of it" Ash replied.

"Is it?" Houndour started. "Sure they would drop it at first to be polite but they would still be suspicious and use indirect means to try and find out."

"And your vague answers make them less suspicious?" Ash asked.

"Well yeah…a…I guess not. Maybe I did mess that up a little. Usually I'm a better liar than that, I wonder what happened. I guess we're just going to have to tell them that it's private and that they should respect our wishes" Houndour concluded.

Ash replied, "Don't worry they will. After all they are my friends." He then added, "Houndour what was my father like?"

Houndour was slightly surprised by this question but not by its nature. He answered, "Well for one thing he looked exactly like you, except he was a great deal taller. You must get your height from your mother or maybe you need to hit a growth spurt. He was also a Pokémon trainer like you but…"

"But what?" Ash egged on.

"But he was horrible at it. He never even got all eight badges. Only captured five Pokémon before he decided to release them" Houndour answered.

"Really?" Ash asked disappointedly.

Realizing Ash's shame Houndour added, "But he was a gifted martial artist, a poet, and painter. You're grandfather taught him well and he learned well. He was also very bright; oh he was a sharp kid. Though he was rather impatient and reckless; traits which I have come to understand he passed onto you."

Ash smiled at this. Houndour continued, "He also had the power over Aura but he…passed on before he came to truly master it." He paused and then said, "Make no mistake he _did _love your mother the way a married man loves his wife. They dated from when they were nine years old until they were seventeen."

"He just didn't love me the way a father loves his son" Ash concluded quietly.

"Don't believe that that is the reason why he left Ash" Houndour began. "At the moment he only felt the shock of what had happened. He could never bear to have your grandfather mad at him and he knew how disappointed Kamikaze would be at his bad judgment. He did not flee out of hatred to you. Personally I believe that he did care about you but…a father doesn't feel his instincts set in as early as a mother does. A mother feels it as soon as the conception but the man has trouble feeling it until he sees his child."

"So if he had waited long enough he would have wanted to stay" Ash sighed.

"This line of thought will have a bad effect on us. I am not certain why he left. We should talk about something else" Houndour counseled. Ash nodded.

"Well then what do you-"Houndour began as a shock wave surged the ground. From out of nowhere a ray of yellow light shot out and caused a massive explosion right next to Ash and Houndour. Ash coughed as the smoke from the detonation was absorbed into his lungs.

"What the-…it's coming from over there!" Houndour yelled as he pointed to a figure at the bottom of the green hill he and Ash were standing on. The figure was a relatively short and purpled-haired boy bearing a cold scowl. Standing in front of this boy was a vicious-looking Tyranitar who had apparently fired off the Hyper Beam that had caused the blast.

"Doesn't he realize how dangerous that is?" Houndour asked as the dust settled in a quiet enough tone to make sure that the boy couldn't hear him.

"I'll go tell him" Ash uttered crossly as he looked at the boy. "Stay here" Ash said as he walked downhill. Obeying his request Houndour and Pikachu did not follow.

"Houndour!" a familiar voice called from a distance. As Houndour cocked his head he could see Misty walking towards him. "Oh, boy" he muttered to himself.

Misty came up to Houndour and Pikachu and greeted, "Hello."

"Uh…hi Misty" Houndour uneasily replied.

"Okay no more faking Houndour, why are you acting so strange?" Misty asked.

"I'm not acting strange what makes you think I'm acting strange?" Houndour replied.

"Houndour please don't take me for an idiot. You have barely said a word to anyone besides Ash since yesterday and every time you see Mrs. Ketchum you act like she's about to kill you. So tell me, why is that?" Misty pushed.

Houndour sighed and finally answered, "Look it's between me and Ash, no one else, got it?"

"What, you can't tell me?" Misty asked defensively.

"No I cannot. Look it isn't a big deal so just drop it" Houndour insisted.

"I'm your friend Houndour you can trust me" Misty encouraged.

"Then can I trust you to respect my privacy?" Houndour boldly inquired.

Misty began to reply but then appeared dumbfounded by Houndour's request and after a short pause of deep thought submissively answered, "Okay. If you consider this private then… I guess I can respect that."

Meanwhile Ash trudged down the hill as his feelings of anger flooded back to him. The boy whose Pokémon's attack had barely missed Ash was Paul, the trainer who had vanquished Ash at the Pokémon League Championship and who Ash had a deep seeded bitterness to. The main reason behind this mutual disgust was due to the fact that Ash and Paul had exactly opposite views on how to train Pokémon; Ash preferred making friends his Pokémon while Paul believed that a Pokémon's welfare did not matter in a fight and any Pokémon that was not naturally strong was not worth training. Not to mention that Paul had a very rude attitude towards Ash concerning their differences and Ash's resolve for this was not helped by the fact that he had difficulty using his compassionate ways to defeat Paul in battle on any occasion. By nature Ash wouldn't conceive changing his views to those of Paul because of his superior battling ability but he would allow it to cause him great anxiety.

When Ash reached the base of the hill and approached the purple-haired Paul he had apparently been scolding his Tyranitar about using greater power when Ash interrupted, "What are you trying to do kill me?!" Paul seeming slightly annoyed at the sound of Ash's voice recalled Tyranitar into its Pokéball and began to walk away wordlessly.

"You think you can just ignore me?! I think you owe me an apology!" Ash hollered as he followed the indifferent Paul.

Grunting Ash shouted with supreme rage, "Answer me!"

Paul stopped coolly in his tracks and in a cold voice replied, "I have already proven my superiority to you. I don't need to waste my breath on a damn-fool loser like you!"

A fury burned away at Ash's mind that could not be contained. All he could focus on was this anger. He actually felt pain as his rage gnarled away at his consciousness. It felt as though he would explode if he did not release his ire somehow. His teeth bared Ash charged at his insulter and with athletic strength tackled him to the ground.

At the top of the hill Misty and Houndour had continued talking until Houndour's sensitive ears had picked up rustling at the bottom of the hill. He turned his head to the source of the sound and blurted, "What the hell is Ash doing?"

"Houndour!" Misty shouted at Houndour's use of mild profanity.

"Don't scold me Ash is the one fighting!" Houndour protested as he pointed towards Ash and Paul who were on the ground exchanging blows.

"What does he think he's doing?" Misty asked shocked.

"I don't have time for this I got to stop them before someone gets hurt!" Houndour shouted.

"Yeah, go. Go!" Misty directed as she pointed towards the scuffle.

Houndour sprinted towards the skirmish at lightning speed with Misty and Pikachu following. Ash had gained the upper hand over Paul and was sitting across his chest attempting to punch his face while Paul used his hands to keep him at bay. Right as Ash was about to hit Paul square in the nose with a right-hook he was knocked of Paul's torso by Houndour's Tackle attack which forced him to bang his head on the hard ground. Both Ash and Paul rose to their feet but when Ash advanced towards Paul Houndour ferociously growled in warning of another protecting attack.

"Stop!" Misty yelled as she reached the bottom of the hill. Panting for a brief moment at the effort of her sprint Misty asked, "Just what do you think you're doing Ash?"

Ash answered, "Back off Misty, this doesn't involve you" as he raised his fists and stalked back towards Paul. However Houndour dashed between them snarling in warning to both of them. At this point Paul and Ash were other than a few light scratches basically unharmed and Misty and Houndour were determined to keep it that way.

"This fight is over" Misty declared.

"I was just leaving" Paul replied annoyed as he turned around and began to leave.

"I'm not finished with you!" Ash yelled as he began to follow. "Oh, yes you are" Misty said as she jumped in front of Ash and grabbed his shoulders to stop him while Houndour growled threateningly once again.

When Paul was not within hearing-range Houndour angrily asked Ash, "Would you mind explaining just what that was about?"

"He started it" Ash immaturely shrugged.

"He attacked you?" Houndour asked as though he was completely ready to forgive Ash.

"Well…not really" Ash muttered.

"You threw the first punch?" Houndour suspiciously asked.

"Yes" Ash quietly answered.

"What possessed you to make you think that was okay?!" Houndour shouted.

"Well…he insulted me" Ash stuttered.

Houndour mockingly replied, "Oh he insulted you well that just changes everything doesn't it? That justifies risking seriously injury for the both of you! Hey why don't I go get you a bottle while Misty here changes your diaper, you big baby?!"

Ash remained quiet. Misty added, "He's right Ash you could have gotten hurt. You could have hurt him."

"I wasn't trying to hurt him I just…" Ash uncertainly began.

"You were just so angry that you thought the best way to handle it would be to unleash it in the form of aggression! You weren't thinking at all were you?!" Houndour lectured.

"He's right isn't he Ash?" Misty asked.

"Just leave me alone!" Ash bawled.

"I've had enough of this new temper of yours!" Misty roared.

"I said…" Ash started.

"Do not yell at her!" Houndour did not yell but surprisingly allowed more anger to escape than he normally would which created a shocked pause.

Ending the pause himself Houndour said, "I thought that we had come to a consensus about your little anger problem. I suppose I was wrong."

Ash bowed his head in anguish and did not reply. Misty reinforced Houndour saying, "We know that you're upset about losing the championship to that guy Ash but this isn't the best way to deal with."

A grimace of rage was slashed into Ash's face at the mention of his defeat. He vengefully snapped, "You don't understand. Drop dead!" Misty gasped in moderate horror and angrily slapped Ash across his face tired of his recent torrent of insults.

Ash rubbed the red mark on the side of his cheek where Misty had struck him.

Infuriated he began to raise his voice but was cut off by Houndour shouting, "That's enough! That is quite enough."

Houndour turned his head towards Ash and with pity he quietly said, "There is so much anger in you. All of your drive, ambition, and passion are…wasted because of it. It is a great shame."

No one said anything after Houndour completed his statement. After a long moment he sighed and instructed, "Come with me Ash."

"What? Why?" Ash defiantly asked.

"Well do you want me to give you an extensive list of reasons why I am asking or are you coming?" Houndour replied as he started to lead Ash away. Predicting Houndour's idea Ash crouched down and whispered in Houndour's ear when he walked close to him, "Why do we have to involve _him _in this?"

Houndour quietly muttered back, "I fear he is the only person who can help you." Despite Ash's anger the way that Houndour had said this, his mortified, caring tone convinced his legs to follow him even though his mind had objections.

"Where are you going?" Misty asked.

"We are going…to solve this problem" Houndour simply answered.

"Well I'm coming too" Misty declared with authority.

"No! Uh…no. I will handle this" Houndour nervously replied.

"That didn't work out so well the first time" Misty reminded him folding her arms across her chest.

"I know it didn't but…allow me this one last chance; I promise that what I am going to do for Ash will be what is best for him" Houndour assured.

Misty sighed annoyed but nevertheless answered, "Fine. I'll let you try your 'special methods' again."

"Thank you" Houndour replied with a smile as he lead Ash who was eagerly followed by Pikachu uphill towards the green mountain where existed the cave in which lived Ash's estranged grandfather.


	6. The Legend of Sir Aaron

Guardians of Aura Chapter 6

Houndour had lead Ash back into the cave that Kamikaze, Ash's estranged grandfather resided in. The walk up the hill leading to the cave in Ash's mind, took significantly longer than the time before when they had been running. This was likely because Ash was walking slowly, in dread of another pointless scolding and more judgment. At about and hour before noon Ash, Houndour, and Pikachu (who Houndour saw no risk in bringing) arrived at the old man's home and Houndour explained everything that had ensued.

Ash quietly sat on a wooden chair in a section of the various caverns that composed the cave that was his grandfather's home that resembled a makeshift living room, with small pieces of furniture and a few paintings, quietly waiting for Houndour to finish talking. As Houndour logged the events of the day Kamikaze made no response beyond occasionally nodding, giving Ash no clue as to what he was thinking. Ash wondered how his grandfather would react to this news and if he would be as mad as Houndour. As Ash pondered this he couldn't help but wonder why Houndour had been so mad at him for instigating a fight with Paul. After all, it was not as if he had tried to kill him and neither one of them had been seriously hurt as Houndour's reaction seemed to suggest.

"So basically" Houndour tiredly started as he neared the end of his story "that's about the size of it."

Kamikaze stroked a small wisp of gray facial hair on his chin as the tall, elderly man contemplated what he had heard. After a short cease fire of words he asked, "Why exactly have you seen it fit to bring him here?"

Houndour seemed surprised by this response and with trace amounts of annoyance answered, "I thought you could help."

"What exactly do you want me to do, scold him? I doubt that coming from a man he barely knows that would be of any help" Kamikaze calmly replied.

Houndour began to become extremely agitated and said, "Well damn it, you have to help somehow! He won't listen to me or his friends and…you didn't see the look on his face; there was so much anger and hatred in it. I know that it's not the only thing that he feels and that he did not always behave like that; he has just lost his ability to control his anger. And…through that he is beginning to lose sight of…himself. I thought that if anyone could help him, could understand him well enough to offer any help it would be you…his only blood besides his mother."

As he took in this statement Kamikaze walked over to Ash and studied his face carefully and after apparently being satisfied with his probing stated, "My face reflected in a new generation. I have let this slip through my fingers once before…"

Houndour interrupted, "If not because he is blood then help him because it is right."

Kamikaze seemed completely ignorant that Houndour had said anything and finished his statement, "…my withered, old heart can not bear for me to allow that to happen again. I will offer what help I can." Houndour smiled.

"All right now, sock it to him!" Houndour beamed.

Kamikaze smiled warmly and began saying, "Ash…"

"I'm not" Ash cut in, "really in the mood to get yelled at again."

"Who wants to spend a fine yelling at each other, how about a nice chat?" his grandfather cheerily replied.

"What?!" Houndour protested.

Turning his head to the fire Pokémon Kamikaze chuckled, "If yelling at him helped this problem at all you would have solved it long before I got the chance my four-legged brother in all but blood." He turned back to Ash, "Now, have you heard of Sir Aaron, young one?"

Ash's face perked up, his anger slightly alleviated as he heard this familiar name and replied, "Yes."

"Would you like to hear the Legend of Sir Aaron?" Kamikaze invited in a friendly tone.

Relieved that he was not going to receive another angry tirade Ash answered, "Ok."

"What? You are going to tell him a story to solve this problem?!" Houndour asked bemused.

"Yes" the old man happily replied.

"Son of a bitch" Houndour whispered.

"What was that?" Kamikaze asked, not defensive or angry.

"I have an itch" Houndour replied, veiling his insult.

Kamikaze then walked over to a corner in the room and pulled out another wooden chair. He set it in the middle of the room and sat down while Ash turned his chair to face him. As he got seated in a comfortable position the old man started, "Well, let's see now. It was a thousand years ago, give or take a few centuries. During the Norman Conquest of England, an English noblewoman by the name of Rin accompanied by a caravan of her servants and guards fled the country to avoid foreign rule and death. Her group fled deep into the Middle East, as she was a woman of unmatchable wealth and beauty and was in danger as long as she remained close to her country's enemies. She was also under the pursuit of a Normandy leader whose father had been killed by her husband during the local resistances, and after finding and slaying her husband was still thirsty for vengeance. This leader tracked her down and hired Arab mercenaries to bring her to him dead or alive, paying them substantial amounts of money for their service. For many months they relentlessly chased Rin all over Asia as she exhausted all of her wealth trying to just staying alive."

Kamikaze paused and took a deep beeath while attempting to remember more, "In their desperation Pin and what was left of her servants, were chased to the edge of China and boarded a ship that took them across the sea in a final attempt to escape a humiliating demise. They landed on a mountainous island that their navigator did not recognize; an island of Japan. As they set out to find any inhabitants of the island, the bounty hunters landed on the shores of the island and caught up with them"

"They quickly slaughtered all of Rin's guards, and a few of her servants, and attempted to capture her, but then a man native to the island appeared from seemingly nowhere. He was a lone Buddhist monk; a hermit who had abandoned the need for material possessions. He ordered the men to release Rin and her caretakers but they could not understand his language. Finally, with his mind, he telepathically shouted his thoughts to them. For thoughts, there are no language barriers. Rather than obey his request the men threatened to kill him if he did not leave as they dragged Rin to their ship."

"Rather than cower down in fear, the monk unleashed a stunning display of his furry, using telekinesis to pull Rin away from the hunters and then firing a glowing, blue ball of light and sound waves made from his life force energy, a ball of aura at them. The force of his psychic jerk had pulled all of the mercenaries into a large mass and the explosion caused by the Aura Sphere engulfed them all in one shot. The attack did not kill one of them but the bounty hunters turned tail and ran back to their ship empty handed, knowing they could not defeat the powerful monk."

"Lady Rin thanked the hero monk for his bravery, kissing him upon the forehead, and knowing that she could never safely return to her homeland asked to be taken to his. Obeying her request the monk brought her to a large rock formation whose shape and color made it resemble a tree. The monk called this place the Tree of Beginning and explained that when his village was destroyed by a warlord he took refuge there and as he meditated and practiced martial arts in the tree, as he had been part of a Warrior Monk clan, he gained the ability to use the power of his life force the way he had to defeat the bounty hunters. He called this life force power 'ki', a word in his language."

"The monk realized how disappointed Rin was at not finding signs of civilization, and not knowing where any villagers were, offered to do whatever he could to help her and her servants survive. With the monk's help, such as him teaching them what plants to grow and how to catch fish to survive, Rin and her servants prospered in this new land. In time they built a castle, molded after the ones in their country, named Cameron Palace and made Rin their queen. As for the noble monk, he was made into a knight and given a name in the language of Rin's people; Aaron. And this concept he called 'ki' was given the name 'Aura'."

"In time Aaron saw it fit to teach his Pokémon partner, Lucario the skills the tree had blessed him with. He kept the Palace of Cameron safe from invaders and remained close friends with Lady Rin. Eventually he married the daughter of a traveling merchant and had a son with her to whom he passed on his skills. He and his family spent many years among Rin's people."

"But as with everything, this came to an end eventually. You see, there were these two Japanese warlords and one of them had been greatly insulted when the other along with his entire army, had refused to pay takes to the emperor. They were both one of the emperor's highest ranking generals. The warlord who refused to pay the taxes declared his succession from the emperor's consul and declared war on anyone who stood in his way. The loyal warlord, seeking to gain the emperor's favor sent a huge army of humans and trained Pokémon wearing green, stone armor, to destroy him and all the men who followed him. The disloyal warlord in turn sent his army, also composed of humans and Pokémon wearing primitive stone armor, though theirs was green not red, and wielding the straight, double-edged swords that preceded the days of the samurai. The two armies swore to obliterate each other and marched to the site of their battle, which by coincidence was Cameron Palace."

"Both of the two warlords were famous for their cruelty during war such as the thievery, and murder and violation of the innocent. Most of their soldiers adhered to this reputation. With Cameron Palace caught in the middle of this massive battle it was likely that it would be utterly destroyed as it had no military to guard it, its inhabitants being too few in numbers at this point. Knowing the danger that everyone and everything he had come to love was in Sir Aaron journeyed to the Tree of Beginning and begged Mew, the Pokémon who live in a symbiotic state with the tree for help. Sir Aaron sacrificed the power of his Aura back to the tree, which it used to send out a wave of energy that engulfed the armies as they began their battle. Aaron guiltily thought that the wave was going to kill the armies but was relieved to see that miraculously, the wave erased from the minds of the men all of their feelings of greed, anger, hate, pain and all other emotions that make a person willing to commit cold-blooded murder. Realizing how horrible the effect of their battle would be if it was allowed to happen both of the armies returned to their homes and the dispute eventually came to a peaceful resolve."

"Though every member of the armies had been spared one man still died that day. Sir Aaron's body could no longer sustain itself after gave up so much of his life force and he perished in the Tree of Beginning. That night all of Cameron Palace celebrated and wept."

"Though the first Guardian of Aura had expired saving Cameron Palace the ways of Aura did not end. Aaron's son continued in his father's footsteps and passed on his knowledge to his children. Eventually the ways grew to be known outside of Cameron Palace and as the samurai of Japan became more widespread; the ways of aura transcended the boundaries between commoner and warrior. Naturally any samurai who knew the ways of aura was distinctly more powerful than the average one seeing as aura gave a man psychic power such as the ability to sense the vibration waves of any object, enhanced senses, and enhanced speed, strength agility and anything else you can name! So as one might expect, as many samurai as possible tried to become aura users. In time the wave-guiding samurai established their own separate class of warrior named the Guardians of Aura."

Kamikaze sat back in his chair and caught his breath as he finished his story, allowing Ash a second to take what he had heard in.

After Ash processed all of his thoughts he finally said, "That…was an amazing story!"

Kamikaze seemed happy and satisfied and replied, "I'm glad you liked it. That story is very important to our family especially."

"Why 'especially'?" Ash asked.

Kamikaze smiled mischievously, "The Japanese name of Sir Aaron when he was still a monk was Satoshi Tajiri."

Ash paused as his eyes widened. "That's my father's name!"

Kamikaze chuckled. "Yes."

"What a coincidence!" Ash obliviously yelled.

"No fool!" Houndour shouted.

"He is our ancestor" Ash's grandfather explained. "The same blood that flowed through the veins of the first Guardian of Aura flows through ours."

Ash's heart skipped a beat. "Oh my God! That is…amazing. Imagine my ancestor one of the bravest, kindest, and most noble heroes in the world!"

"Not at all like you" Houndour cut in.

" What?" Ash asked confused.

"Well let's see, within the last 48 hours you have started a fight with a guy because you were jealous that he had won that competition, shouted at, and cussed out your best friends, and told one of them to, what was it, 'drop dead'. Was the 'drop dead' thing special treatment of some kind for Misty? I guess she is either your best or your worst friend. It is heartwarming to see that the proud legacy of your family holds no control over your life, not even to influence you to act right" Houndour mocked.

Ash's chest swelled in uncontrollable guilt as he heard what Houndour said. "Oh, God you're right! How I could I treat my best friends and my mom like that?! I have to be the worst member of my family ever!"

"I wouldn't say that" Houndour mumbled to himself, thinking of Ash's father.

"Oh, God I feel like such a…such a…" Ash stuttered.

"Jackass" Houndour finished.

Ash looked over to Pikachu who condescendingly nodded in confirmation. "Yeah" Ash agreed.

"It's not too late to fix it Ash" his grandfather pointed out.

"You're right." Ash realized. He ran over to Kamikaze and bade, "Thank you so much grandpa...can I call you 'grandpa'?"

"Go ahead. And you are welcome, grandson" Kamikaze replied, standing up. Then, grandfather and grandson embraced each other in a warm hug. It lasted only a brief moment but it showed that they had accepted each other as family.

"You know what you must do" Kamikaze said proudly.

"Yes. I should go do it now" Ash answered.

"Of course, goodbye Ash" his grandfather replied.

"Goodbye, for now" Ash said before he turned around and ran through the tunnels of the cave to its entrance followed closely by Pikachu. Kamikaze smiled as he realized this meant that his grandson would return to him soon enough.

"Aren't you going with him?" Kamikaze asked Houndour as he remained still.

"In a minute" Houndour replied.

"Why are you stalling?" Kamikaze asked non-judgingly.

With an eyebrow raised Houndour looked at his old friend and said, "Story telling? You use story telling to solve anger problems? Oh, my friend, I don't think I will ever truly understand you."


	7. The Battle Plan

Guardians of Aura Chapter 7

Ash, Pikachu and Houndour ran quickly down the hill keeping a steady pace. They had agreed that Ash should apologize to Misty personally as he had angered her more than anyone else. Houndour had mentioned that he thought Ash should not run into much trouble acquiring forgiveness from Misty, an assumption he had derived from how highly Misty had spoken of Ash in her and Houndour's many conversations. After about 10 minutes of sprinting they saw the silhouette of Misty sitting in the clearing they had left her in.

When they walked up to her Misty merely said, "Oh, you're back Houndour. Come on, we should go home." She stood up and began to walk away. Houndour hesitated for a moment and began to slowly follow her.

"Wait, Misty!" Ash shouted. Misty stopped but did not turn around. "I'm sorry Misty! I'm sorry I said those awful things to you and you have every right to be mad! I had no right to act that way and I can't say how sorry I am!" Misty turned around.

SMACK!

Misty's right palm struck Ash across the face again, stinging him in pain and leaving a large, red mark. "That meant nothing the last time you said it" Misty coldly said. She turned back around. "I thought it did. But clearly, I was wrong." She walked away.

"What just happened?" Ash asked Houndour, bemused as he rubbed the mark on his cheek where Misty had struck him.

"About what I expected would" Houndour said realistically as he lingered from following Misty. Ash threw Houndour a cold stare as he said this statement which had contradicted his earlier encouragement.

"What are you looking at me for? The person you have to apologize to is over there" Houndour stated, pointing to Misty.

"Come on Houndour!" Misty called.

As Houndour turned to follow, he told Ash, "You don't win a battle by quitting while you still have soldiers left who are willing to fight." He trotted away towards Misty.

Ash contemplated what Houndour had said and, after a nudging in the leg by Pikachu ran after him and Misty. He stopped in front of them and desperately yelled, "Misty I'm sorry! I am so sorry for what I did! I'm a horrible and stupid person and I don't deserve for you to forgive me! Winning or even competing in that stupid championship isn't worth going through all of this! But I don't care if I ever win that championship or any for that matter! I don't care if I ever see another gym badge again! I don't care if my arms and legs fall off and I go blind! But I do care if one of the best friends I'm ever going to have hates me too much to ever talk to me anymore!"

Misty turned around and looked Ash in his eyes. "You were really mean and cruel Ash."

"Yes I was" Ash agreed. "But now I' m begging you to forgive me for that!"

"I don't know" Misty whispered. A knot formed in Ash's chest.

"I know this is none of my business"Houndour interjected. "And that Ash did behave horribly, but I will say that I think he is honestly remorseful for his behavior, and that he feels horrible about it. I won't try to justify what he did and said but I don't think it is a ridiculous notion to try to put all of that behind us."

Ash and Misty remained silent. Houndour broke this silence, "After all, you two are best friends, you have both said so. You can't let your friendship that has lasted nearly four years to end because of a stupid-ass argument like this!" His words drove into Ash and Misty's minds like 100 arrows.

Ash, who had turned to look at Houndour, turned back to Misty and said, "Misty, I'll do anything to make this right. Uh, you can hit me again…"

SMACK!

Ash had been cut of by the sting of Misty's hand striking his face again. "Ouch…" he grunted as he rubbed the enlarged mark on his face.

"One more chance" Misty said as her face adopted a small smile.

"Thank you" Ash said relieved. "I promise I will never make you regret it."

"That's better, much better!" Houndour proclaimed. "Now how about a friendly hug?"

"What?" Ash and Misty said surprised in unison.

"You hugged Brock, why not him too?" Houndour reasoned.

Misty shrugged in response as she put her arms around Ash in a short hug and, after a moment's hesitation, Ash hugged her back.

"Finally" Houndour sighed. "My work is never done."

"How did you get him to apologize like this Houndour?" Misty asked, her happy demeanor returning.

"Story telling, my friend" Houndour boasted. "Sweet, sweet story telling."

The next day started out considerably more pleasant for the small group of friends. Ash had regained his old friendly, courteous personality that had prompted Misty, Brock and Dawn to be his friends in the first place. Houndour had also quickly gained a level of friendship with everyone through his usage of conversations to relate to them. It had become the joyous reunion of friends that Misty had expected it to be.

Near the end of mourning, around noon Ash, Brock, Misty, Dawn and Houndour were having a picnic on the grassy hills, after which they planned to visit Ash's old friend who had given him his first Pokémon and Pokédex, Professor Oak.

"It sure is a beautiful day" Dawn said as she stared up at the clouds.

"No denying that" Brock agreed as he took a bunch of rice balls, also called "onigiri", out of a picnic basket while Ash and Misty laid out a blanket to set up the picnic on. As everyone sat down on the tarp Brock also proceeded to pull out several cans of green tea from his basket and hand them out to everyone, along with the onigiri.

"Thanks Brock" Misty said as she opened her can of tea. As she lifted of the tab it made the same spraying sound that opening a can of soda would make.

"No problem Misty. You know what they say, tea is nature's medicine for everything" Brock humbly replied.

"I don't know if I've ever heard that" Ash said as he eyed his can skeptically. "Are you sure you didn't bring any soda or water?"

"What you don't like tea?" Houndour asked.

"Well, uh…" Ash started.

Houndour interrupted, "That's the problem with this country; we're beginning to act too much like the spoiled Americans. Everything's got to have high fructose corn syrup, sugar, or meat or we won't eat it. Bah! The day when a son of Japan doesn't enjoy a good cup of tea is the day that Tokugawa Ieyasu rolls over in his grave a thousand times!"

"Who's that?" Ash asked.

"You don't know who that is?" Houndour asked. Ash nodded.

"Oh, God do you have any idea how much I wish I had hands so I could choke you right now?!" Houndour replied. Everyone began laughing.

When everyone began eating Dawn, while chewing a rice ball, asked, "So why were you guys gone for so long yesterday?"

"What?" Ash asked.

"What were you doing for so long? You were gone a few hours" Dawn explained.

"Yeah" Brock added, taking a gulp of his tea.

Ash and Misty hesitated in answering for they were uncomfortable about talking about the awkward situation of anger that had occurred between them as Misty wished to forget it ever happened and Ash still felt guilty about it.

After an uncomfortable pause Houndour jumped in, lifting his head from the bowl of Pokémon food Brock had given him, "Hearing a story; that's what was taking so long."

"What?" Dawn asked.

"I took Ash to hear the story of one of his proud ancestors; Sir Aaron, and Misty curiously followed" Houndour explained. Ash wondered where Houndour was going with this.

"Sir Aaron is you ancestor?" Brock asked shocked.

"The Guardian of Aura hero; Sir Aaron?" Dawn added.

"Uh…yes" Ash slowly replied.

"That explains why that when we met that Lucario it said that your Aura was like his" Brock said astonished.

"I guess it does" Ash realized. Ash had indeed met the Lucario whom was Sir Aaron's partner, student, and friend after he had accidently released him from the staff he had been trapped in for a thousand years. His eyes stuck shut and using his ability to sense Aura to see, the Lucario indeed mistook Ash for Sir Aaron.

"What on earth are you guys talking about?" Misty asked. Misty had not been there when Lucario had been released and had never even heard of the concept of Aura. Dawn had also not been present at the time of Lucario's freeing but had seen other demonstrations of Ash's mediocre ability to use his Aura such as limited and sporadic precognition and telepathic communication with minds.

"Misty, I thought you heard the story too" Dawn said.

"I said she followed us. She never heard the story" Houndour explained. He turned his head to Misty and said, "Perhaps you would like to hear it now."

"Why not?" Misty shrugged.

For a substantial amount of time Houndour told Misty and the others the entire legend of the Japanese monk who had rescued and befriended the English noblewoman Eileen and her servants, and then sacrificed his life to save them from impending war, who was know as Aaron. He told the story basically the same way Ash's grandfather had.

"Wow you're descended from that guy Ash?" Misty acknowledged after Houndour had finished.

"Yep" Ash proudly boasted.

"That's really cool" Dawn complimented.

"Why did sacrificing his Aura kill him?" Brock inquired.

"It's you life force you can't live without it" Houndour explained simply.

"Why did it make his body disappear?" Brock asked.

"No one's quite sure, that's just the way that Aura users die when they aren't murdered. If they're murdered their bodies stay but if they are just sick or old, or if they sacrifice their aura, their bodies majestically fade away" Houndour replied.

"How do you know all this?" Misty asked. Ash's heart skipped a beat; he wondered how Houndour could possibly answer this without blowing their cover.

"Got my memory back" Houndour said smiling.

"Really that's great!" Misty congratulated. Ash was now really worried; it seemed as if Houndour would reveal everything.

"Yes. You see I was owned by a knowledgeable scholar who taught me to talk and read and studied things like this" Houndour said. Ash was still nervous but also impressed at how Houndour was, at this point, reveling no secrets but to the best of his knowledge, not lying.

Houndour continued, "But…" he told the only non-truth, without blinking, changing breath, or making any readable indicator that he was lying, "he died."

"I'm so sorry Houndour" Misty said, petting Houndour on the head. Ash felt relieved.

"It's all right. He was very old and if that didn't happen" he turned his gaze to Misty, "I never would have met you my wonderful, kind friend."

Misty smiled, "Aw that's sweet Houndour."

"Yeah well I hope you enjoyed it because that's the last time I'm acting like that" Houndour sarcastically warned. Misty chuckled.

"Now I have a question for Ash" Houndour proclaimed.

"What is it?" Ash asked.

"What in the hell is this about…" Houndour started.

"'Heck' Houndour" Misty interrupted.

"…heck" he began again.

"It's all right, you can say that here" Ash assured.

"No he can't" Misty protested.

"Sure he can" Ash said.

"No he can't, it's rude" Misty argued.

"It's just a word" Ash quarreled.

"It's indecent!" Misty insisted.

"It's no big deal!" Ash retaliated.

"Excuse me!" Houndour cut in. "Can I finish?" Ash and Misty silenced themselves, embarrassed.

"What is this about you meeting a Lucario that recognized your Aura?" Houndour asked.

"Well that's a long story" Ash replied.

"We have time" Houndour reasoned.

For the next hour Ash told the story of how he, Brock and their other friends May and her kid brother Max visited Cameron palace during its festival honoring the memory of Sir Aaron. He explained that after winning a Pokémon competition he was named honorary Guardian of Aura and was lent the staff that was once owned by Sir Aaron to wield during the ball. He told about how when he stood with the staff his Aura caused Lucario to be released from it and how Lucario mistook him for Sir Aaron. He explained that Lucario had been sealed in the staff moments before the battle that would have destroyed Cameron Palace took place and that he was under the impression that Sir Aaron had fled the castle in an act of cowardice. It was recounted that a mischievous Mew had whisked away Pikachu to the Tree of Beginning, a large rock formation made up of living crystal that has a strong connection with the Aura of all creatures, after the two were attack by a pair of Weavile belonging to Kidd Summers, a well-rounded and beautiful world record collecting woman. Though the Weavile had only been ordered to tag Mew with a tracking device. After the encouragement of Lady Ilene, Lady Rin's direct descendent that bore an uncanny resemblance to her predecessor and now presided over Cameron Palace as a figurehead rather than an actual monarch, Lucario agreed to help Ash look for Pikachu.

Using his ability to sense Aura, Lucario lead Ash and friends, including Kidd Summers swiftly, yet not smoothly to the Tree of Beginning. Lucario, being able to use Aura to speak telepathically, openly expressed his disdain of Ash's strong friendship with Pikachu, scoffing at the idea that a human could be trusted with another living creature's life or camaraderie. Ash was at first enraged at this but then understood Lucario's feeling's when through the help of a Time Flower, a unique flower that by using the power of Aura could visually record events, he saw Sir Aaron trapping Lucario in the staff and fleeing the battle. Seeing Ash's remorseful and sympathetic reaction to this, Lucario began to trust him as they advanced on the Tree.

After arriving at the Tree, Ash and his friends ran into a naturally set in place resistance. Three Pokémon a Regice, a Registeel, and a Regirock vehemently and violently opposed any humans stepping foot in the Tree of Beginning. Though despite their opposition Ash and Lucario made their way into the Tree and Ash was reunited with Pikachu.

This was a heartwarming triumph; however their problems were not over. Robotic probes Kidd had used to explore the Tree had triggered its natural immunity system in the form of Pokémon shaped antibodies that viewed humans as threats and would simply kill them to eliminate them as such. When Ash is captured by one of these blood cells his Pokémon wept in extreme sorrow and Mew generously managed to stop the Tree of Beginning's response. Unfortunately the Tree's immunity response was too strong and ceasing it so quickly caused it to go into shock and begin dying.

Mew informed Lucario that using the power of Aura he could save the Tree. When Lucario tried to sacrifice his Aura to the Tree he discovered that his Aura was not strong enough to do so single-handedly. Ash, remembering Lucario had stated his Aura was alike that of Sir Aaron's and that he had the ability to trigger Time Flowers helped Lucario, giving just enough of his Aura for Lucario to sustain it himself. Lucario pushed Ash away right before he used up enough of his Aura to kill himself.

After saving the Tree from destruction, Lucario collapsed on the ground exhausted and on his last legs. He accidently leaned against a Time Flower, activating it. Through the Time Flower he witnessed Sir Aaron's last moments and discovered that he had indeed saved Cameron Palace from certain doom by sacrificing his Aura to the Tree of Beginning and that he had valued Lucario as his closest friend and only sealed him in his staff because he knew that Lucario would adamantly follow him to the Tree and suffer the same fate. As Lucario faded away Ash grabbed his hand and begged him to hold on but instead Lucario decided to join Sir Aaron, and died in Ash's arms, at peace.

"That was a great story Ash" Misty commented when Ash had finished speaking.

"Yeah I didn't know that's when you got your Aura power Ash" Dawn added.

Houndour had been gaping, open-mouthed at the ground, in incredible shock and at a loss for words but he managed to say, "Then how did you know he could use Aura, Dawn?"

Dawn explained, "When we were taking a lost Riolu back to its home Ash used Aura to sense where its home was and…well for only a second, what it was thinking."

Houndour almost choked on his own breath as he heard this. His eyes were set in a stare, not blinking, his heart was racing, and he his face instantly looked a hundred years more aged.

Suddenly a ringing sound protruded from Misty's backpack, which was lying discarded by her side. "Sorry guys I have to take this" Misty said as she pulled out a Pokégear from her pack and walked away to answer to call coming from it, as it had a cellular phone attachment.

Ash started catching his breath from the effort of reciting the events when suddenly an echoing sound ringed inside of his head that sounded like, "_Ash, can you hear me?"_

Ash shot his head around the landscape looking for the source of the noise. When he didn't find it he asked, "Who said that?"

"No one said anything, Ash" Brock replied.

"Don't tell us you're going crazy on us again" Dawn teased.

"'Again'?" Ash questioned.

"No need to worry, you were probably just hearing things" Dawn replied colorfully.

"Last time I checked whenever you say 'no need to worry' there's always a huge reason to worry" Ash mocked.

"Very funny Ash" Dawn said sarcastically.

"_Ash!_" the strange voice, appearing again shouted. Ash looked around for the sound again. "_Look in front of you!_" Ash turned his head to the front of his body and saw Houndour staring at him. "_I am about to nod my head three times._" Houndour's lips did not move as this sound protruded Ash's mind but he did nod his head three times. Ash opened his mouth to speak but the echoing voice, which only now did Ash realized sounded exactly like Houndour's interrupted, "_Say the words inside of your head!_"

"…_Your lips aren't moving_" Ash thought in his head.

"_Very astute observation, did you realize that all by yourself?_" Houndour replied, still not opening his mouth.

"_How are you…_?"

"_Exactly how I doing this, I will explain later. But I knew I could communicate telepathically with you after hearing that you had already done it before._"

"_It wasn't like this the last time I did it; I could barely tell what Riolu was thinking._"

"_Let's just say I am giving you a little help." _

"_So can I talk like this with anyone else?_"

"_No. You are merely acting on instinct. Without learning how to, you can't communicate with anyone besides me or your grandfather and you aren't strong enough to communicate from long distances."_

"_You can do this from a long distance?_"

"_Sure I can. Watch this!_" Houndour turned his head to face the sky and a low-key whistling sound reverberated through Ash's mind for about 30 seconds before stopping. "_I just spoke with your grandfather."  
_

"_You've got to teach me how to do that!_"

"_Only a Guardian of Aura is allowed to pass down the secrets of Aura._"

"_Then would grandpa teach it to me?_"

"_I'm sure he would be glad to. He could also help you with another problem I have noticed you have._"

"_What's that?_"

"_You're a terrible fighter._"

"_What's that supposed to mean?!_"

"_I saw you fighting Paul. Do you have the nerve to call those weak little strikes punches? Not to mention you can't take a punch, or even a slap for that matter. _"

"_Misty slapped me on the same part of my face three times!" _

"_So basically if you were in a real fight and got punched three times you would be knocked out._"

"_No!_"

"_Well regardless of how good of a fighter you think you are, your grandfather can make you into a better one as well as teach you how to use your Aura to talk telepathically with anyone, from any distance, and many other amazing things that would blow you away!"_

"_That would be nice._"

"_Though I must war you, mastering control over your Aura is no small feat. It requires serious discipline and training and takes a long amount of time._"

"_That's the only reason I'm not sure. I've decided that I want to be like Sir Aaron and have control over my Aura so I can do amazing things but…I would have to stop traveling and abandon my Pokémon journey. I don't want to do that._"

"_I understand. I have been pondering this dilemma and I think I have the solution._"

"_What's that?_"

"_Tell me Ash, how often does the Sinnoh League hold its championship?_"

"_Uh…once every two years._"

"_And are those gym badges you have from the Sinnoh Region still valid?_"

"_I guess._"

"_So instead of starting over in a different region, you could in theory, what's the phrase, try again?_"

"_Well, yes but it's a two-year wait._"

"'_Wait' you say 'training period' I say._"

"_What?_"

"_It's simple. You could stay in Pallet Town for the next two years spending every other day being trained in the ways of Aura and every other day training the Pokémon you already have._"

"_That sounds like a good idea but I haven't stayed in one place for that long since I was nine._"

"_I'm sure your mother would enjoy not having to wonder whether or not you're safe every waking moment. Besides think about it; from what Misty has told me I know that you like to start over in a new region without any of your Pokémon besides Pikachu. You like starting over and trying to prove how good of a trainer you are by winning with a team of new Pokémon but have you ever thought about adding on to the experience the Pokémon you already have posses? If you spend two years with the same Pokémon then you will learn the best ways to battle with all of them and they will get stronger! Think about how much easier it will be to go into battle with a battle plan!_"

"…_Okay._"

"'_Okay' what?_"

"_Okay. I'll stay and train._"


	8. Partners

Guardians of Aura Chapter 8

"We have to go home now, Houndour" Misty said as she returned from finishing her call.

"What? You said we would stay here the rest of the day" Houndour replied.

"I did say that but Daisy just called and…you're going to be late for your show" Misty said, annoyed.

"What are you talking about?" Houndour asked, completely ignorant.

"Remember Houndour; Daisy agreed to let you stay with us if you narrated the water shows at the gym" Misty reminded.

"I lied about that!" Houndour shouted. "I didn't think she would actually remember! As soon as I heard that valley-girl accent I thought 'this girl will believe and forget everything you tell her'!"

"Well you can tell her that when we get there" Misty shrugged as she stood up. "Goodbye Ash, bye Brock, it was nice seeing you two again. And it was very nice to meet you Dawn."

"Likewise" Dawn happily replied.

"Bye, Misty" Brock added.

"Uh…see ya later Misty" Ash slowly said. In his head, to Houndour, he thought, "_You don't have to leave. We haven't even told grandpa about me being trained._"

Houndour thought back, "_I never go back on my word. Don't worry; we'll get this sorted out. I'll be able to contact you telepathically from the distance between here and Cerulean City. The only liability is that you won't be able to start a conversation of minds yourself, at least not yet._"

"Well, I guess I will see you all later. It was a memorable experience meeting all of you and so I will have to dedicate the next 20 years to erasing all of it from my mind to make room for more valuable information. I'm not sure exactly what, but I'll let you know" Houndour bade.

"Bye, Houndour" Dawn replied.

"Yeah, have a nice trip" Brock said.

"I'll see you soon. But before you go, I have an announcement for everyone" Ash stated.

"Oh, really? Well, do go on" Houndour lead, predicting what Ash was about to say.

Ash inhaled a deep breath. "I have decided to stay here for the next two years to train to take on the Sinnoh League again."

"What?" said Dawn.

"Are you sure?" asked Brock.

"I am."

"Wow Ash, that's…surprising" said Misty.

Houndour walked over towards Ash and beamingly proclaimed, "Yes with you staying this close to home…" Ash knelt down and met him at eye level, "we will be seeing much more of you, Ash." Ash nodded.

"_Before I go_" Houndour stated as he placed his right paw on Ash's forehead. Suddenly, a stream of images coursed through Ash's mind; he saw the grassy surfaces of the mountains and a large hole in one of the mountain sides as well as many networks of tunnels and then beheld his grandfather's face. "_Now you can find your way there._"

"_Thank you, for everything_" Ash thought. Houndour smiled and nodded. "I guess we'd better get going Misty."

"I guess so" Misty agreed. Houndour ran up next to her.

"_Goodbye._"

"_For now._"

Two hours later, after paying just as long of a visit to Professor Oak as courtesy called for, Ash and Pikachu stood before his grandfather Kamikaze in his home.

"So, you wish to be trained" the old man said, seemingly to himself.

"Yes" Ash responded.

"This may seem irrelevant but how did you come here without arousing the suspicion of your friends?"

"I told them I wanted to start training my Pokémon today."

"I see. What do you plan to do about your Guardian training once you two year margin ends?"

"I haven't thought of that."

"Hmm. How badly do you wish to be trained?"

"What?"

"Ash, I have no desire to become your teacher if you do not want it. If you are doing this because you feel that you have to then I refuse."

"I'm not sure I know what you…"

"Would you honestly want this if not for your legacy, your pity of me, and your suppressed desire to surpass your father to redeem his image?" Ash was astounded at how well Kamikaze had described his feelings. The old man took note of this and said, "I can sense your emotions. They are very clear to me. You are confused, frustrated and unsure of what is best for you to do next. So tell me, if not for all of what I have just mentioned, would you still want to be a Guardian of Aura?"

Ash remained silenced for a few seconds before answering. "I…I don't know."

"I see."

"_I figured this would happen_" the voice of Houndour echoed through Ash, Kamikaze and Pikachu's minds, his body being back in Cerulean City.

"_That's why I made that special request._"

Kamikaze replied back, his thoughts, like Houndour's echoeing through the minds of all those present, "_Yes, Houndour. Thank you for reminding me._" Ash's grandfather reached into the sleeve of his robe and pulled out a glowing crystal in the shape of a carnation. "Do you know what this is, Ash?"

"It's Time Flower; it records events of the past and shows them, using the power of Aura."

"Yes. Do you know the secret of a Time Flower's roots?" Ash shook his head.

"Any Time Flower that is planted in the ground can, with the help of an Aura guider, access and stockpile the memories stored in any other planted Time Flower on Earth. Many Guardians used this secret to create a quite impressive collection of historical events."

"Houndour believed that some of the memories that I hold in this Time Flower could persuade you to willingly receive training."

"_You agreed._"

"Yes, I did agree."

"What's in there?" Ash asked.

Kamikaze smiled. "You tell me." A small, blue light appeared in Kamikaze's right hand and he waved it over the flower. The swirling petals of the flower curled down, creating a small opening in the top of it. A clear light floated out of the flower like a seed and expanded, encompassing the entire room.

Ash would never forget the visions that flashed before his eyes then. As clear as if they were happening now, he saw the Guardians' noble events of the past; Sir Aaron protecting Eileen from the bounty hunters and sacrificing himself to the Tree of Beginning to end the war, a man over a hundred years old meditating on a hill, still as fit as ever, an army of 100 Guardian's defeating an invading army of over 10,000 and saving their homes, a single Guardian standing, sword drawn in front of a group of women and children huddled in a corner, fending off two dozen attacking samurai, a group of 10 women Guardians mounting a successful defense to protect their houses long after their husbands had been conquered, a man carrying many people on his shoulders at once out of a burning castle, and, perhaps the most simple and least amazing vision, but one that strangely left Ash with a satisfied feeling, a very old Guardian dying peacefully in his bed, a smile quietly grown on his face and his body fading away in a divine, blue light.

When the visions had ceased Ash stood speechless. He gasped, "That was...it was…there aren't words…"

"That is how I felt when my father first showed me something similar to this" Kamikaze said, retaining his smile.

"I am…one of…them" Ash said, pointing his hand at the Time Flower. Only then had he realized that tears of wonder for the beauty he had seen had formed in his eyes.

"Not yet."

"Not yet…but…I want to be…yes…I'm sure! I want to be one of them, grandfather! I want to be a Guardian of Aura!" Ash shouted without realizing it, his emotions beyond his control. "Please. I want to be one of them. Please, make me into one of them."

"With pleasure" Kamikaze grinned.

"Great! When can we start?"

"I believe that Houndour has already begun for me."

"_That I have._"

"What do you mean?" Ash questioned, confused.

"He has taught you of telepathy. It is not very conventional this early in your tutelage, but we shall start with that."

"You'll teach me to master telepathy?!"

"Yes. But calm down. Before we start with that, come with me." Kamikaze turned around and motioned for Ash to follow him. He led him through various caverns and tunnels that all looked basically the same, until they found themselves in a ridiculously large room that was completely empty, except for the many portraits hung around all of its walls.

"Why'd you bring me here?" Ash asked.

"Take a look at this portrait" his grandfather replied, motioning his hand to a painting that was a few feet from the single cavern that led to and exited from the room. Ash turned his head and gazed at it; it was a visual rendering of Sir Aaron and Lucario, identical to the one in Cameron Palace. On the frame of the painting, on a small bronze plaque was a series of kanji letters and underneath them, ideograms from the English alphabet. The Japanese words read, "Satoshi Tajiri" and the English ones spelled, "Sir Aaron". With one long finger Kamikaze pointed to the kanji; "The language of our land." He then pointed to the English; "The language of Cameron Palace."

"Since the days of Aaron, every single Guardian of Aura in our family has had a portrait made of him and, his partner." Kamikaze then pointed to the portrait next to Aaron's; a man closely resembling Aaron though a little bit shorter and with a sterner expression was depicted in it standing alongside a Scyther. On the inscription below the painting "Masaki Tajiri" was written in both Japanese and English.

"His partner?" Ash asked his gaze lingering on the portrait of Aaron's son.

"Every Guardian of Aura has had a Pokémon partner standing by his side with which he had an unparalleled spiritual and mental bond of friendship and loyalty; one that stood by them through all their quests and shared their lives with them, both gained strength from the relationship, both becoming much more powerful than an ordinary human or Pokémon."

"So Lucario was Sir Aaron's partner" Ash said. Kamikaze nodded. Pointing at the portrait of Masaki he added, "And Scyther was his partner." Again Kamikaze nodded. "And Houndour…is your partner."

"_Bingo_" Houndour said.

"Where is your portrait?" Ash asked. His grandfather motioned him over to a corner of the room where the long trail of portraits ended. He pointed to the second to the last painting; it showed him or a much younger him, wearing clothes of the same fashion as Sir Aaron. In his right hand he held a katana; his arm swung it to the side, and his left hand rested on his left knee as his left leg was placed forward. At his feet stood Houndour, only then did Ash realize how old Houndour really was; his fur, like Kamikaze's hair was in the portrait, a much darker shade of black then it was now, age having grayed it, and his muscles were rippling in the younger depiction of him, as were Kamikaze's. The confident smiles that the picture had them bearing also gave an obvious sign of their passed youth. "Even the strongest man cannot withstand the test of time forever" said Kamikaze as he gazed at his younger self, longingly. "_Tell me about it_" Houndour agreed.

A pause of words occurred then that was broken by Houndour, "_I think I have sensed the same connection between him and Pikachu._"

"So have I. It is unusually strong for one so young" Kamikaze agreed.

"_They have been through much._"

"They have grown so much with each other."

"_They have saved each others' lives before_."

"They are friends."

"_Best friends._"

"They are destined to be partners."

"_Yes._"

"I think you're right" Ash cut in. They stayed silent. "Pikachu was my first Pokémon. He's my oldest, most loyal Pokémon and he's shared my entire journey with me. We are the best of friends imaginable. If he isn't what you'd consider to be my partner yet then he will be soon."

"_It's unanimous then._"

"Yes. Let us take it to the next step" Kamikaze said. Ash appeared confused. "Speaking to one another."

"What?"

"With telepathy you will be able to speak with Pikachu or any other Pokémon as plainly as you are to me now.

"That would be amazing!" Ash blurted.

"All right, calm down. I'll give you a small sample first" Kamikaze said as his hands began to glow translucent blue as though he was holding a fire. "I haven't done this in quite a while, so forgive me if it is a little scratchy at first." He placed his hands on both sides of Ash's head and turned his head so he was looking at Pikachu. "Say something to him" said Kamikaze.

"_Pikachu?_" thought Ash

The yellow mouse stared at him blankly. "_…A…a…s…h…Ash?_"

"_You can talk!_"

"_I…I…can…t…talk?_"

"_Oh, my God!_"

"_S…so…so strange; my thoughts s…s…so different. Is this what…being a…human i…is like?_"

"_Pikachu?_"

"_So confusing. Words are so odd. I hear the sound of my own voice…in my…head…my mind?_"

"_Pikachu?_"

Pikachu shook his head and gazed at Ash. "_Ash; friend, that is the word that describes what we are, isn't it?_"

"_It is._"

"_Is this how you always think, with these strange words and phrases?_"

"_Yeah._"

"_I don't like it. It's so…complicated._"

Houndour cut in, "_Don't worry Pikachu, in time you will grow to love the human speech._"

"_I'm not so sure…Houndour…that's the word for you isn't it?_"

"_Yes._"

Pikachu lifted his head to Kamikaze. "_And you; grandfather._"

"_I am actually just Ash's grandfather, my name is actually Kamikaze. At your service, Pikachu_" the old man replied.

"_Camiko…Komi…kalazee…I think I would have an easier time remembering 'grandfather'._"

"_If that is your wish._"

Pikachu addressed his thoughts to Ash. "_He's nice. I like him and Houndour too._"

Ash chuckled, "_Yeah._"

"_Ash, friend, grandfather, Houndour; so many words, how will I ever understand them all?_"

"_Don't worry Pikachu, we'll learn them together._"

"_Friend, Ash; I think those are my two favorite words._"

Kamikaze removed his hands from Ash's head. The link Ash felt with Pikachu wasn't gone, but it was now weaker. "_Pikachu!_" he shouted with his mind. Pikachu did not hear him.

"Why did you do that?!" Ash yelled.

Houndour answered for Kamikaze, "_He couldn't keep his hands there all day._"

"But…" Ash began.

"You cannot grow dependent on my power. You must grow skill on your own. You must be able to use telepathy without my aid and so must Pikachu" Kamikaze explained. Ash still looked angry. "Of all the essential skills you will gain this is the one that will take the least time to gain."

"Let's not waste any time then" Ash said, calming down.

"Indeed not." Kamikaze stroked the portrait next to his with his right hand. Accidently projecting his feelings he thought, "_You will not be the last generation of Guardian to walk the Earth._"

Ash observed the portrait his grandfather was touching. It was of a young man who, looked exactly like Ash in every way from his hair to his eyes and the shape of his face. The only difference was that he was taller. He was kneeling down and had his arm wrapped around a Machop, a human-like fighting type Pokémon. A carefree smile was painted on his face. Underneath the painting the words "Satoshi Tajiri" were written in English and Japanese. It was a picture of Ash's father.

"Why would he have been?" asked Ash.

"What?"

"Why are there no more Guardians of Aura?"

Letting out a long sigh, Kamikaze replied, "That is not a story for today. Come, there is work to be done."

For many hours Kamikaze mentored Ash in the ways of telepathy. He taught him how to focus and project his thoughts. It was mostly a matter of concentrating so deeply on his thoughts while using his Aura to give them enough strength for him to reach out with them. However, despite Kamikaze's excellent instruction and mental exercises, after a long amount of time passed Ash had not gotten a hold of the skill.

"You've used telepathy on your own before. By now we should be making headway" Kamikaze observed.

"Perhaps I can be of help" the voice of Houndour said. He was suddenly standing in the cave with them. He had come in without them noticing him.

Not sounding surprised, Kamikaze asked, "How did you get here without your friend noticing?"

"You two have been at this for hours. It is nighttime. Not to mention is was actually just a rehearsal and not the show so it didn't take as much time."

"I will ask what you mean by that later."

"Moving on" Houndour started, "the problem lies not with Ash but with Pikachu. Pikachu must learn the same things you have taught Ash to be able to speak telepathically. Then, after practicing with each other, their skill will grow enough for them to do it with others as well. Their link is the key to making this work."

"You are right."

"Being a fellow Pokémon, I shall teach Pikachu this."

"Very well."

For another two hours Houndour repeated Ash's lessons to Pikachu. They worked vigorously and vehemently. When Houndour was finished, he advised them to try again.

Ash strenuously said, "_Pikachu, can you hear me?_"

"_I…I can_" Pikachu responded with effort.

"Success!" Houndour yelled. Kamikaze smiled.

"Well you should go home now Ash" Kamikaze advised.

"What, already?" Ash asked.

"It is dark, your mother will be getting worried and you have already learned more in your first day of training then most learn in their first week. Come, I will guide you to the bottom of the hill so you do not lose your way in the dark."

About 15 minutes later Ash, Pikachu, Kamikaze, and Houndour were at the bottom of the hill saying farewells.

"Goodbye Ash and Pikachu" Kamikaze and Houndour said in unison.

"Bye" Ash replied. Pikachu strained to project his thoughts. "_B…bye._"

"We'll see you soon" Ash said as he and Pikachu turned around and walked away.

"Yes" said Kamikaze.

As Kamikaze and Houndour stood alone at the base of the mountain Houndour said, "You are one amazing teacher my friend."

"As are you."

"Is that so Houndour?" a female voice asked. Misty was now standing in front of them.

"Misty! Uh…what are you doing…uh….here?" Houndour said shocked.

"Just spending hours looking for you after you disappeared" she replied angrily. Houndour tried to think of something to say. "You had me worried sick Houndour" she added, placing her right hand on her chest to calm her breathing. "Now tell me, what's going on!"

"Well…uh…this old man kidnapped me and…uh" Houndour stuttered.

"Save your breath Houndour" Kamikaze interrupted. Reaching into Misty's mind he added, "This young lady is nobody's fool." He smiled and looked at Houndour. "Tell her."

"Tell her?!"

"I can feel her Aura; she has a good, compassionate, strong heart; we can trust her" Kamikaze said as he turned to walk back to his home. "Goodbye."

"Uh…goodbye" Houndour said, confused as his friend disappeared into the darkness of the night. Misty put her hands on her hips and stared at Houndour piercingly.

"Well Misty, I guess I have some explaining to do."


	9. Why?

Guardian's of Aura Chapter 9

Late that night, Professor Samuel Oak, the world's leading Pokémon biology and poetry expert sat in his at his desk in front of his video phone thinking. A glass of red wine rested on top of a coaster to his right. "I'll call Delia first_"_ he decided. He punched in the numbers on his phone and sat quietly as he waited for her to pick up.

The image of Ash's mother appeared on the phone's monitor. "Hello Samuel" she greeted warmly.

"Hello Delia" he responded dryly.

"Did Ash stop by there today?"

"Yes" he replied, his mind drifting elsewhere.

"Is something wrong?"

"Possibly: tell me, has Ash told you about his plans to remain here for two years of training?"

"Yes he has. In fact, he just got home from his first Pokémon training session a few minutes ago."

"It seems a bit odd, don't you think? He hasn't stayed in one place for that long since heaven knows when."

"It is a little strange," Delia admitted "but I can't pretend that I'm not glad that I'll be seeing my son everyday for a while."

"Yes…"

"What's wrong, Samuel?"

"There's something else about all this that Ash isn't telling us. The entire time he was here his mind seemed to be on something else."

"What are you worried about?"

"I'm not sure. There was just something…familiar about the way he was acting."

"Familiar?"

"He reminded me a little too much of his father."

Delia's calm, rational and kind demeanor temporally disappeared. "Samuel, you know I hate to even think of that horrible man!"

"Yes I know, I'm sorry" Professor Oak quickly apologized. "I don't know why I even said that. It's just this secretive attitude of his and…that talking Houndour…"

"You…" Delia almost whispered "you think he's the same one?"

"The lifespan of a typical Houndour is fairly long, though he would still most likely be dead by now."

"Sato…" she groaned, unable to complete the name, "_his_ Houndour couldn't talk!"

"Yes. I'm sorry that I brought any of this up. I don't know…" he sighed. "I guess my tongue has been loosened" he said as he sipped some of his wine.

"Samuel, don't tell me you've taken up drinking" Delia said with a motherly sense of judgment.

"It's red wine Delia. It's not very strong and it's actually a lot healthier than most other fruit juices." She glared at him.

"Elm gave me a bottle for my birthday; it would be rude not to drink it."

"I would figure that Elm would want to impress his honorable teacher by gracing him with a wine worthy of his elegance" Delia taunted.

"Okay, it has a little kick to it" Oak admitted. "I'm old Delia; I've endured everything life has thrown at me and I'm allowed to cut loose with a single glass of wine every now and then." He took another sip.

"I guess so" Ms. Ketchum sighed.

"Let me worry about my health, my dear."

"And let me worry about my son, my friend."

Oak smiled. "Yes. Sorry to have troubled you."

"It's all right. I know you alcoholics can't always control what you say" Delia mocked.

"I suppose I had that coming." Oak took another drink and yawned. "Goodnight Delia, keep an eye on Ash."

"Goodnight Samuel, I'm sure you'll keep a close enough watch on him for the both of us." The video monitor blinked and her image faded away.

Oak sat on his chair silently for a few minutes until Tracey, his apprentice returned from visiting Misty, entered the room. In his hand he held a liquor bottle. He walked over to Oak's desk and refilled his half-drained class after receiving a nod from the old man. Tracey chuckled, "Alcoholic?"

"That woman never can stop playing the part of the mother, even to an old Croagunk like me" Oak replied.

"Are you going to call Rowan now?" Tracey asked after he finished pouring the wine.

"I suppose. It would probably be more productive than forcing Delia to remember Satoshi."

"Why did you actually mention Ash's father to her?" Tracey inquired.

"I don't know. Maybe I am drunk. There's just something about the way Ash was acting that reminds me of him" replied Oak, deep in thought.

"From what you've told me of him, Ash is actually a lot like his father."

"That's what worries me so much, which reminds me that I must once again ask you to never tell Delia that I told you of him" Oak scolded.

"My lips are sealed" Tracey assured.

"Good" Oak said, reclining in his chair. "It's late, you should get some sleep."

"Goodnight" Tracey said as he walked out of the room. "Goodnight" Oak responded.

Oak sighed again then punched in the numbers to contact Professor Rowan, a Pokémon evolution expert and the leading scientist in the Sinnoh region. After a few minutes of ringing, the image of Rowan appeared on the video monitor.

"Hello, Samuel" Rowan said.

"Hello."

"I'm in the middle of conducting a little research so I hope you don't mind if we keep this brief."

"That's all right with me Rowan" Oak agreed.

"You seem troubled."

"I suppose that's true."

"Well out with it; what's wrong?"

"Have you seen Ash recently?"

"No, I can't say that I have. He was supposed to visit my lab after he finished competing but from what I've heard he was in a very foul mood after he lost."

"That's a bit of an understatement from what I have heard."

"Not to seem rude, but how is this important?"

"Did Ash tell you that he plans to stay in Pallet town for the next two years to train to take on the Sinnoh League again?"

"No. I must say that doesn't sound like him at all."

"I know. He usually is much too eager to begin traveling again to stay home for more than a few days. The reason I actually called was to see if you knew anything at all about this."

"No, this is all news to me. It is very bizarre. However, I don't see why this is any cause to worry."

"I'm not as certain."

"What reason do you have to be worried, Samuel?"

"I'm also not certain about that. I know that something's wrong with Ash; there's something he's trying to hide. I'm not sure if it's important or not but I do know that it's causing Ash to act…different."

"Well I guess all you can do is keep an eye on him and trust that if anything is wrong with Ash, that the problem will reveal itself."

"Hm…"

"Really Samuel, this level of concern you're showing for the boy would lead most people to believe that you were his father."

"Well…I'm probably the closest thing to one he's ever had" Oak admitted.

"Oh" Rowan replied, at a loss for words. "Well, I'm not exactly sure what to tell you but I do know this; you aren't Ash's father Samuel. You may have mentored him as a Pokémon trainer since he was very young but you cannot treat him better than any other of the trainers under your tutelage. And you shouldn't spend endless, sleepless nights worrying about a problem with him that may not even exist."

"I know."

"Don't worry Samuel, I'm sure that Ash can deal with any problem that he's having. He always has before."

"You're probably right Rowan, sorry to trouble you with this."

"That's quite all right Samuel. So tell me, how goes your research on the mating habits of Ghost Pokémon?"

"As hazing and inconclusive as this."

Rowan chuckled. "Take care of yourself Samuel."

"You too" Oak replied. The monitor once again blinked as Rowan's image disappeared. Oak wordlessly gulped up the rest if his wine and headed off to bed.

Meanwhile Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu sat in his room awake, too restless to fall asleep. Brock and Dawn occupied two guest rooms downstairs. Ash was practicing the first thing Kamikaze had taught him by speaking telepathically with Pikachu.

"_This is all so strange_" thought Pikachu. "_Everything is so different. Everything has a name and a word and another word to describe it. Life used to feel so simple, but now all of these complicated thoughts make everything so…odd._"

"_I'm sorry you don't like it Pikachu_" Ash apologized.

"_I said it was strange, not that I didn't like it. I don't like this confusion but…I feel…smart now. I feel like that knowing something's name or being able to compose a sentence gives me…power. It's frightening but Houndour was right; I like it._"

"_And now we can talk_."

"_Yes. I think that being able to talk to others is my favorite part of this. It may be weird for a while but I'll get used to it._"

"_Yeah. It seems like we have a lot to get used to. These past few days have been some of the strangest of my life._"

"_And that's really saying something_" Pikachu joked.

"_I guess it is._" Ash sighed heavily. "_I never thought I would meet my grandfather or any of my family for that matter._"

"_Because you're father's dead?_"

"_Yes._"

"_How did your mother tell you that he died?_"

"_She said someone shot him when he was at work._"

"_If it makes you feel any better I've never met my father, and I don't even remember my mother._"

"_Doesn't really make me feel better, but it's nice that you understand._"

"_I do now. It's weird; if we've learned this much already I wonder how much your grandfather and Houndour will teach us._"

"_I know. It's weird being one of the only people who can control Aura._"

"_Every Pokémon can control Aura; I don't feel as special._"

"_Every Pokémon can control Aura?_"

"_Yes. Where else would our powers come from?_"

"_I guess I never thought of it._"

"_We can also sense Aura. When you were at the Tree of Beginning I could feel your Aura fading away when you were helping Lucario. I was very worried._"

"_I guess it's a trade off; Pokémon get Aura powers and humans get intelligence._"

"_Intelligence?_" Pikachu repeated, sounding insulted. "_No. Humans merely get a certain type of intelligence that lets them create things like technology and talk; they are no smarter than Pokémon._"

Ash laughed, "_Calm down Pikachu. I guess you're right. The Guardians were probably so powerful because they had both._"

"_They were as strong as Pokémon_."

"_And as smart as humans._"

"_If they were so powerful I wonder why they are all gone_" Pikachu said.

"_Me too._"

"_We should ask your grandfather tomorrow._"

"_Yeah, we should._"

"_But now we should sleep; you're tired, and I'm tired._"

Ash thought of arguing but then tiredly submitted, "_Goodnight Pikachu._"

"_Goodnight Ash._" They both lied down on top of Ash's bed and let their dreams carry them off into a deep sleep.

The next day, after wolfing down his breakfast Ash headed back to the mountains to see his grandfather. His run there took a surprisingly short amount of time. When they arrived there they were surprised to see both Houndour and Kamikaze patiently waiting for them. After a brief greeting Ash and Pikachu found themselves being lead through a narrow cavern that climbed to the top of the mountain.

"How were you able to come here Houndour?" Ash asked as they ascended.

"Misty's covering for me" Houndour replied.

"_How'd you get her to agree to do that?_" Pikachu asked, which was surprisingly the same question Ash was about to ask.

"I told her everything."

"_Everything?_" Ash and Pikachu questioned in unison, Ash with his mouth and Pikachu with his mind.

"Well not everything; a bit less than what you know. I said almost nothing of your father."

"Why did you tell her? I thought that this was a huge secret that we had to keep from everyone" Ash stated.

"It was my idea" Kamikaze explained.

"_What?_"

"It would be too difficult for Houndour to attend these training sessions if he had to hide the fact that he was traveling here from, Misty; that is her name, correct?"

"It is" answered Houndour.

Ash said, "I thought the ways of the Guardians of Aura must remain secret to all but those who are allowed to practice them."

Houndour reassured, "Not to worry, I didn't tell her any of our secrets. After all you forget the people who live in Cameron Palace; there are still living people who know about the Guardians, but we are the only ones who know their secrets." He seemed to trail off to a different line of thought, "Besides, our enemies have been dead for a long time now." Kamikaze threw him a piercing stare, indicating that he had said too much.

"'_Enemies'?_" Pikachu repeated.

"Who are our enemies?" Ash inquired.

"That is not a story for today" Kamikaze said.

Ash became adamant. "No, I think it is. I think I deserve some answers. Why are all of the Guardians of Aura gone, why do you have to hide in this cave, and who are our enemies?!"

"I cannot tell you, not yet."

"Why the hell not?!"

"First; you would do well to show more respect to your sensei and second; in order to answer your questions I would have to reveal secrets; many well kept secrets that build the foundation of our order that I cannot trust with an un-bloomed Sprout."

"With a what?"

Houndour answered for him. "A Sprout; a Guardian in training. Guardians or people belonging to Guardian families, who have never used their powers, are called Seedlings, those who have used their powers but are still developing are called Sprouts, and masters are called Blossoms."

"So I have to become a Blossom before you can tell me?" Ash asked.

"You have to become closer to being one than you are now. You have to at least be a man" Kamikaze answered.

"And when will I become a man?"

"That depends on you. You are about 14 years-old now, correct?"

"Well, in a few months I will be."

"According to tradition, a boy could become a man anywhere from 12 to 16 years old, depending on if his father or guardian judges him ready for manhood."

"So I'll find out…" Ash started.

"No later than your 16th birthday" Houndour promised. Kamikaze nodded.

"Oh, boy."

"Don't despair; it could happen sooner than that if you are willing to become a man before then" his grandfather reminded.

"How do I become a man?"

"As your grandfather and sensei, it is my job to teach you that."

"'_Sensei'; what does that word mean?_" Pikachu asked.

"It means 'teacher' or 'master', in Japanese" Houndour answered.

"_Sensei_" Pikachu repeated, gazing at Kamikaze.

"That is very respectful Pikachu but in actuality, it is Houndour who will be your sensei" Kamikaze replied.

"_Houndour?_"

"That's right. I'm going to teach you to be a Guardian of Aura; the Pokémon way, unless of course you don't want to be a Guardian."

"_I want to do this with Ash._"

"Then I guess it's all settled" Kamikaze declared. "Now we may begin."

Suddenly, the end of the cavern was illuminated by a flood of yellow sunlight. As they walked straight into it, Ash and Pikachu found themselves at the grass-covered top of the mountain. They were amazed to see all that was there; there were huge training areas such as a sparring circle, suspended punching bags, archery targets with bows and arrows laying beside them, logs being tied by ropes and hanging to be swung at someone who's objective was to dodge them, and the most peculiar, a deep chasm in the ground out of which rose a small foothold and aimed at the foothold were numerous crossbows.

"This will be your training grounds" Kamikaze said simply. "We will begin slowly but as we progress your Aura's connection with your body and mind will grow stronger and you will in time, access superhuman abilities."

"Just conventional stuff" Houndour said, "you know super strength, speed, agility, heightened senses, and psychic abilities; nothing fancy."

"Where should we start?" Ash asked.

"Something physical" Houndour responded.

"Yes" Kamikaze agreed. "As your body gets stronger so too will your Aura. Physical conditioning usually was the first step in Guardian education." He walked over to the large punching bags that were suspended from a shelf of rock. "We'll start simple."

Ash followed him. There were two unusually big punching bags in front of him held by metal chains. "First of all, I want to see something. Punch it."

"What?" asked Ash.

"Punch the bag" Houndour reiterated.

"Oh." Ash walked over to the bag on his left. He took two steps back and threw his right first forward. It slammed into the bag and Ash felt a jolt of pain in his wrists and knuckles as it landed. The bag did not move. "You were right Houndour; he is a terrible fighter." Ash would have snapped back, if his pain didn't distract him.

"Ash" Kamikaze started, "that punch had no technique or strength behind it; of course it didn't move the bag. Try it like this." The old man took a fighting stance; his legs were spread, his knees bent, and he leaned most of his weight on his back leg; his right one. His left hand was lifted in front of him and his right hand he held next to his hip. Ash did his best to duplicate the stance. Kamikaze then examined him, correcting his errors in form and then stepped back. "Try again. Step forward with the foot on the same side you are punching with."

Ash took his stance and with his right leg, step forward and once again threw his right fist at the bag. This time he felt no pain at the collision and the bag moved a few inches before swinging back. "Much better."

"So that's how you punch" Ash marveled, looking at his fists.

"Yes" said Kamikaze. "There is also a simple exercise to strengthen your punches."

"What's that?"

"Push-ups."

"Why don't you do a few Ash?" Houndour suggested. "We have some mats laid out here, you won't hurt yourself."

Ash shrugged and dropped to his knees. He spread his palms and prepared to do the exercise when Kamikaze intruded, "Not like that." Ash stared at him confused. "Not on your palms; on your knuckles."

"Won't that hurt?"

"A bit at first if you do excessively, but it is a conventional exercise that will harden your knuckles and strengthen your wrists much better than a normal push-up."

Ash attempted to support his weight on his fists. It was difficult; he had trouble balancing himself on his two largest knuckles and finding a comfortable position. When he was ready he dropped down and tried to thrust himself back up. It didn't work; he fell, his weight collapsing under his left hand. "You'll have to practice it. Don't worry, it will get easier."

Ash stood himself up. "Your form was perfect" Kamikaze complimented. "You just need to develop the strength."

"I don't know if those things actually work" Ash replied, rubbing his hands.

"Oh?" Kamikaze questioned. Swiftly, he took a stance, his left hand in back and punched one of the bags with perfect form and application of strength. The bag flew back several feet and the chain holding it broke. With a deep thud, it collided with the ground.

"I can't do that" Ash said.

"Yet."

"You've shown him strikes and exercises, now how about you show him weapons?" Houndour posed.

"Good idea. Follow me." He led them to the sparring ring. He walked over to a holding bin and pulled out what looked like two pieces of bamboo. "These are shinai; bamboo practice swords. A hit from one of these won't kill or injure you, but it will sting something terrible."

He handed one to Ash. As Ash held it in his hand he felt a weird emotion; he felt powerful. As he held the leather handle and moved the mock sword around it didn't feel like he was holding a tool, it felt like his arm had merely grown longer; the weapon was an extension of him.

"The Japanese sword, or katana, was a favorite weapon of the samurai and the Guardians."

Obeying Kamikaze's instruction, Ash gripped the handle with both hands, his right hand on top, and his left hand on the bottom and took a proper fighting stance. "This phrase isn't Japanese or Guardian tradition, but en garde!" Kamikaze yelled. For an endless amount of time, Ash and Kamikazes dueled with the practice swords. Kamikaze's skill despite his old age was astounding; he easily blocked all of Ash's attacks and penetrated his defenses striking back. Each time they engaged, Ash ended up with many stings on his arms and legs, though amazingly, no bruises. Despite his severe disadvantage, Ash was having fun; the thrill of successfully blocking an attack or striking your opponent (which he only succeeded in doing three times) was incomparable to any joy other than victory in a Pokémon battle.

After hours of sparring Ash stood panting and covered in sweat. Kamikaze did not seem tired at all. "Well I guess that's enough for today" Kamikaze decided.

"What, already?"

"You are tired; I don't want to push you too hard. Don't worry; as you get stronger our lessons will increase in length. But for now let us eat."

Pikachu and Houndour, who had left at the beginning of the fight, came in carrying a tray of rice balls and tea. Kamikaze and Ash sat at either side of it. "Cheers" Kamikaze said, sipping his tea. Ash took a drink of his tea and barely managed to stop himself from gagging on it; it was very bitter. He turned his attention to his rice. When they had finished eating Kamikaze said, "You better go now; someone may come looking for you if you're here too long."

"Right. Goodbye grandpa" Ash bade.

"Sensei; when we are merely talking I am 'grandpa' or 'grandfather', but when we train you will call me 'sensei'."

"Goodbye, sensei" Ash replied. He then did what he thought was the most polite thing he could do; he bowed.

Kamikaze smiled and said, "Very good." He stood and bowed as well.

Pikachu stood and faced Houndour. "_Goodbye, sensei_" he said with a strange amount of veneration that was more than mimicry. Pikachu also bowed.

"Goodbye Pikachu" Houndour replied, bowing as well.

Later Ash and Pikachu trudged down the hill slowly, Ash still very tired. "_Sensei Houndour?_" Ash questioned. "_That's a lot of respect gained for him for just helping him bring tea._"

"_We did more than that_" Pikachu explained. "_He's incredibly wise and smart; it's surprising. He taught me about the history of the Pokémon Guardians. Did you know that a Pokémon who was a Guardian of Aura had just as much political power as a Guardian human?_"

"_No. I don't know that much about the Guardians' history yet._"

"_Well, you will soon, because we're going to keep training_."

"_Yes_" Ash said grabbing his smarting left leg that had been hit with a particularly hard blow. "_It's going to get harder._"

"_Much harder._"

"_But it'll also get better._"

"_Much better._"

"_And we'll get stronger._"

"_Much stronger._"

"_You're already much stronger than most Guardian's are at this point in your training. Usually the only thing they have done by now is accessed Time Flowers, at least that's what Houndour told me._"

"Time Flowers" Ash repeated out loud, realizing something. His head darted around in every direction, looking for something. He found it and ran over to it. What he had found was a Time Flower protruding from the ground. He knelt down in front of it.

"_You're thinking of your father, aren't you?_" Pikachu asked.

"Yes."

"_What do you think you're going to find?_"

"Anything."

"_You may not like what you find._"

"I know, but I have to see him, even if there's only one memory of him."

"_There will be more than that. All it takes is a Pokémon running by to cause a Time Flower to record something and since your father was a Guardian he would have triggered them himself, or so I've been told._"

Remembering the secret of a Time Flower's Roots, Ash touched the Time Flower jutting from the ground in front of him and fed it energy from his Aura. "_Show me my father; show me any memories of Satoshi Tajiri_" he said telepathically.

A light shot out from the Time Flower and engulfed Ash and Pikachu. Memories of the past were presented before them.

A young, Japanese woman was cradling a baby in her arms. The woman was very beautiful; she had long black hair, vibrant blue eyes, and a smile of unquestionable compassion. Suddenly, a man entered the memory, Ash recognized him to be Kamikaze. The man stroked his baby's hair and said, "Sakura, our son is beautiful."

The memory ended but the Flower showed another one. A little boy ran crying into his mother's kitchen as she was cooking. He was crying. "Oh, what's wrong, little Sato?" his mother named Sakura kindly asked. The little boy pointed to his knee that was scraped and covered with blood. "Come now, let's get you cleaned up" Sakura said as she picked up her son and carried him out of the Time Flower's line of vision.

Then a different memory came; it showed a boy of about 6 years helping a limping Machop walk over to Kamikaze, Houndour at his legs. "What's wrong son?" Kamikaze asked.

"He's hurt, daddy" the young boy replied. "Can we help him?"

Kamikaze responded, "We certainly can." The boy's father picked up the Machop and they walked away.

A memory not taking place more than a few years after that one then was shown. The little boy was standing in some kind of a park with a little girl standing next to him, in front of his parents, the Houndour and the Machop from the previous memory sat under a tree watching. "This is my new friend Delia" the little boy said in a cheerful, high-pitched voice.

"Sato is my boyfriend" the girl teased.

"What?!" the boy shouted shyly. Kamikaze and Sakura laughed at this

. "_Young love_" Kamikaze said telepathically to Houndour.

"_Indeed_" Houndour chuckled.

In the next memory Satoshi was considerably older; no younger than 10. "So you're a Guardian of Aura?" the preteen asked his father, who was standing next to him. Kamikaze nodded. "And what I just did at the Tree with that ball of light means that I'm one too?" Kamikaze nodded.

The next memory showed Satoshi now about 12, exchanging punches and kicks with Machop in a sparring match. Machop jumped in the air and knocked Satoshi to the ground with a kick. "_That's five to three; I win_" the Machop said telepathically to Satoshi, his partner.

"I'm not giving up yet!" Satoshi proclaimed, jumping to his feet. They resumed their rhythm of blocking and striking.

Then Ash saw Satoshi, the young girl from a previous memory, Machop, and Houndour walking along side each other. Suddenly, the young girl lost her balance as a section of dirt collapsed under her feet and she slid off the edge of the cliff. She screamed in fright. "Delia!" Satoshi yelled. He lunged after her and grabbed her left hand with his, using his right had to grip the ledge. As Delia dangled dozens of feet above the ground and certain death, Satoshi demonstrated amazing strength by lifting her up to safety with one hand.

She wrapped her arms around him and said, "Thank you Satoshi! I was so scared!"

"_He's getting much stronger_" Houndour marveled.

Then Satoshi and Delia stood in Professor Oak's laboratory. The Pokémon scientist's hair was a dark brown in the memory, him being much younger than in the present. He handed Satoshi a Pokédex and five Pokéballs. "Good luck" he warmly bade.

"Thank you, Professor" Satoshi said.

"Bye Samuel" Delia, who knew Oak better, said as they left.

The next memory took place at night. Satoshi and Delia were sitting on a park bench together and Satoshi was reciting a poem "…and yet all the majesty of the stars and spirits and gods cannot compare to the divine beauty that is Delia."

"That poem was so beautiful, Satoshi" Delia said.

"And yet it still can't begin to describe how beautiful I think you are" Satoshi replied, in a dignified voice. Delia drew her head closer to him. Their lips met in a long kiss.

Next, Satoshi and Machop were standing with Kamikaze and Houndour. "On this, your 16th birthday, my son I will present you with this gift" Kamikaze said, unsheathing a new sword he held in his hands. "May you be able to use it masterfully, yet never have to." Father and son engaged in a warm hug then.

"Thanks, dad."

The next memory took place in a dark cave. Satoshi and Delia were sitting in it, frightened looks on their faces. "We've been trapped in here for a week; they're never going to find us" Delia said.

"You're right" Satoshi agreed, searching for the Aura of anyone who could help them. He found none.

"We're going to die" Delia said grimly.

"Yes" Satoshi agreed. "And I have one final _wish _that you could make come true."

"This is no time to be thinking of that!" Delia snapped, her cheeks glowing red.

"Why not?" Satoshi questioned. "I love you and we will die no matter what. Let us at least die happy."

In the final memory Ash saw, Satoshi stood at the top of a grassy hill with Machop. Satoshi took out five Pokéballs and released from them a Pidgey, a Rattata, a Caterpie, a Mankey, and a Spearow. He shooed and beckoned the Pokémon to leave. Having not developed the same bond with him that Ash's Pokémon had with their trainer, Satoshi's Pokémon fled to wild freedom. He then crushed all of their Pokéballs under his feet, destroying them. "We can never return" Satoshi said. Machop nodded. The memory ended abruptly. No more memories came.

"Damn it!" Ash yelled, slamming both fists to the ground, tears flowing down his eyes. "He loved her, how could he leave her? Why would he leave her?! Why did he leave me?! Why would Machop let him?! How could he do this to us?!"

"_Ash_" Pikachu sighed sympathetically, knowing he could say nothing to help.

"Why didn't he tell me?!" Ash yelled, thinking of Kamikaze's vague elaboration of Satoshi's seduction of his mother. "They thought they were going to die! They didn't know what would happen!"

"But it's my father's fault! My mom had the courage to raise me, why didn't he?! Why?! Damn it, why?!" Ash hollered, begging the world for an answer. He had never been brought up with a certain religion but he begged God, any god that might exist, any divine power that could deliver the answer to give it to him.

"_Come on Ash, we should go home_" said Pikachu as he nudged him in the side. Ash stood up wordlessly, still crying. They walked back to his house.


	10. Team Rocket’s Unforgettable Performance

Guardians of Aura Chapter 10

A large horde of people had gathered in the Cerulean City gym to witness the Sensational Sisters' synchronized swimming play entitled "The Sea Prince" that was to be narrated by the world's only talking Houndour. Many promoting agents and possible endorsers had come to see this show and to judge whether or not the Sensational Sisters were worthy of their sponsorship. A gigantic audience had also assembled to see if this claim of a talking Houndour was true or not.

About an hour before the show started, Misty went looking for Houndour, him being nowhere to be found at the moment. She was to inform him that it was time for him to start preparing for his narration. She walked out to the back of the gym and out of the corner of her ear heard Houndour's voice mumble, "Why, why did you leave?" He was standing in front of a Time Flower and using his paw to trigger it, apparently searching for something in particular.

Unexpectedly, Houndour stumbled upon a memory of Ash dropping on his knees weeping; it was from the day before when he had probed the Time Flower for memories of his father. Misty saw Houndour watch Ash break down in horrible anxiety, literally begging for the reason why his father abandoned him. Misty felt pain in her heart for Ash as she saw him in this state of utter desperation.

"I know you're there, Misty" Houndour said, not turning around. "You're Aura has become too familiar to me for me not to recognize you."

Misty moved closer to Houndour, not knowing what to say. "What's wrong with Ash?"

Houndour sighed deeply. "He wants to know why his father abandoned him."

"His father…abandoned him?"

"Yes" Houndour said quietly. "I've been searching for any memory hidden in the Time Flowers that could tell me why he did, evidently, so has Ash."

Misty gasped as she came to a revelation. "You knew his father, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"That old man you saw me with, Ash's teacher, is also Ash's grandfather."

"He is?"

"Yes. He raised his Ash's father to be a much better man than he was. But I have searched the Time Flowers for this answer not only for Ash's or the old man's sake, but also for mine."

"What do you mean, Houndour?"

"He…" Houndour paused, "…was more than just my partner's son. He was one of my best friends. We used to spend so much time talking and enjoying each other's company. Any time he needed advice but couldn't ask his parents he always came to me. Perhaps the only person I cared about as much as him was Ash's grandfather. His abandoning Ash was by far, the last thing I had ever expected to happen."

Misty did not know how to respond. "So…I guess you're looking for him."

"No" Houndour quietly replied, his ears drooping. He nearly whispered his next statement. "He's dead."

Misty kneeled down and lightly rubbed Houndour's head. "I'm sorry. At least he's in a better place."

"You have no idea how much I wish I could believe that" Houndour sighed.

"You don't believe in an afterlife?"

"I do. That is why I fear for him." Houndour's voice was filled with more depression than Misty had ever heard from him.

A thought occurred to Misty, but given Houndour's sadness she felt that it would be selfish to act on it.

"Go ahead and ask whatever you're thinking of" said Houndour.

"How did you…"

"The waves of your Aura reveal many things. Just ask it."

Misty paused but then uncertainly asked, "Is it possible to use those Time Flowers to…to find my parents?"

"Maybe, I don't know if it's a good idea though."

"Why?"

"Ignorance is bliss. Ash practically had his heart ripped out while he was trying to find the truth. There may be things about your parents that you're better off not knowing." Houndour felt a wave of disappointment washing over Misty's Aura when he completed this statement. Before she could reply he said, "But I will try." Misty nodded hopefully.

Houndour placed his right paw over the Time Flower and a faint glow emitted from his paw as a small gush of air blew in his face. As swishing sound could be heard as he was doing this. He remained in that position for several moments until a bright light rose from the Flower and surrounded him and Misty. "This was the only one I could find" he explained.

In the memory, a woman and a man stood on a dirt road during a thunderstorm, wearing yellow raincoats. The blistering wind caused them to pull their hoods over their faces. Misty prayed that the wind would blow their hoods back. The woman carried something in her right arm. On the ring finger of the hand on her other arm was a golden ring. The man had an identical band on his left ring finger. Misty then noticed her older sister Daisy standing in the memory. The woman handed Daisy the bundle in her hands. The thing she had handed her was a baby rapped in a blanket. Misty recognized it to be herself as an infant.

"Please" the woman said, having to shout for her voice to carry over the wind, "take care of her!"

Daisy gazed at the baby for a moment and then asked, "Will I ever see you again?"

The man began to reply, "We…"

Suddenly, a bright, loud flash of light illuminated the entire memory, and then the memory ended.

"Lightening must have struck the Flower" Houndour said.

"That…can't be all" Misty gasped. A thin line of tears escaped her eyes.

She was still kneeling down and Houndour stepped over to her and put a sympathetic paw on her shoulder, as though it was a hand, and in a compassionate voice said, "I'm sorry, it is."

Misty rapped her arms around Houndour, seeking comfort. He felt awkward, but he felt the dejection now ruling over Misty's Aura and allowed her this. Tears now freely shed from Misty's eyes but, to Houndour's surprise, she did not sob.

Misty then released Houndour and then sat back, rubbing her tears from her face. "I'm sorry" Houndour repeated.

"Don't be" replied Misty. "You warned me. You were right."

"I wish I wasn't" Houndour said honestly. "It seems that you and Ash have more in common than I thought."

"I guess you're right. But he has a mother."

"Yes. But there's one thing you'll have that he never will" Houndour said, his voice lifting.

"What's that?"

"Come here, it's a secret." Houndour motioned her forward.

"A backstage pass to see the world's only talking Houndour create his narration magic! And if you're lucky, I'll give you the star of the show's phone number; me and him have a bit of history together" said Houndour, throwing his voice to sound pretentious. Misty managed a weak laugh.

"At least I lightened the mood a little with that" Houndour acknowledged. "But seriously, what you have is hope."

"What?" Misty asked, tears no longer escaping her eyes.

"Ash's father is dead for sure. The same cannot be said for your parents. You may find them one day. You also don't know why they are gone; there is hope that they had a good reason. It is not much" he placed his paws on her hands, "but it's something."

Misty smiled. "You're such a great friend Houndour; I love you."

"No creature ever has been able to resist my charm."

Misty hugged him again and then stood up. "Come on, you're going to be late for your performance."

"Yes I certainly don't want to keep my fans waiting" Houndour boasted.

An hour later, Houndour stood atop a diving board that overlooked a humongous fish tank that was filled with fake treasure chests, purple and blue coral reefs and numerous water Pokémon, the most notable of them being Misty's Gyarados, to create a sea-like atmosphere. The bleachers that had been put up for the audience were completely filled.

On top of a short music stand rested the narration script that Houndour was to read. He eyed the poorly written screenplay questionably.

"This play's a piece of garbage" Houndour mumbled. He accidently whispered this statement into the microphone placed in front of him. The crowd stared at him surprised.

"Uh…hi folks" Houndour stammered. He looked towards the ridiculous hoax of a script and read aloud from it. "Welcome to the Cerulean City Gym. We have a really great show for you tonight. This is the premiere of the 'Sea Prince' written and directed by… (he looked at the script and saw that the writer and director's name were not included)…huh they didn't include the writer and director: that's a little ungrateful. (He then remembered that he was being watched)…uh…and staring Daisy, Lily, and Violet; the Sensational sisters!" The crowd erupted in thunderous applause.

Houndour continued. Obviously, he had neglected committing the script to memory. "Oh, here we go! Written and directed by the Sensational Sisters!" He tried to talk to himself but accidently spoke into the mike, "We obviously have a very low budget." The crowd started laughing.

"Oh, you find that funny, huh? I would try to make you laugh again but I'm supposed to stick to the script or I'll get 40 lashes." They laughed again.

"Anyway, playing the title role of the handsome Prince of the Sea will be none other than the Cerulean Gym's own Tracey Sketchit…dear lord, they roped Tracey into this. And…as you can plainly see, this play is to be narrated by the world's only talking Houndour! That would be me." The crowd began cheering.

"So without further ado, let the show begin!" The crowd fell silent. Tracey paddled on the watery surface of the tank in a small canoe dressed in a ridiculous, green leotard.

"One day the Prince of the Sea was sailing when his eyes fell upon the most gorgeous sight he had ever seen. He…" Houndour was cut off by a large crashing sound that seemed to be coming from the roof. He looked up and saw that a giant hole had been broken in the glass roof. Through it dropped a large hot-air balloon. The balloon was shaped and colored to resemble the head, paw, and tail of a Meowth. Inside of the green balloon basket stood a young woman with ridiculously long and stiff red hair and a young man with blue hair and a rose in his hand. They both wore white uniforms with a red 'R' located on the shirts.

The young woman announced herself, "To protect the world from devastation…"

The man continued, as though it was a rehearsed routine, "…to unite all peoples within our nation…"

"…to denounce the evils of truth and love…"

"…to extend our reach to the starts above…"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

A Meowth jumped on top of the edge of the basket, behind the two adults, and in plain English, declared, "Meowth, that's right!"

The crowd began clamoring nervously.

"What in the name of God is going on?" Houndour asked into the microphone.

"I see that our reputation does not precede us, Jessie, even though we reverted back to using our old motto in the hopes that the people of this city would remember us" said the man.

"Apparently not James, but when we are done with them, the name Team Rocket will strike fear into their hearts" the woman assured.

"No denying that."

"What exactly do you want? We're kind of in the middle of something" said Houndour impatiently.

"Still in the dark?" James asked. "Well we'll enlighten you."

Jessie continued, "We're Team Rocket, the most nefarious band of Pokémon thieves on Earth! We are here to steal all of these magnificent Water Pokémon for our boss."

James mocked, "And apparently we're also going to bag him a talking bitch."

Despite the crowd growing nervous Houndour remained cool. He snickered and replied, "First of all, I'm a male. If you're going to use a profanity in its literal sense at least do it properly."

James responded, "Okay, we're going to bag him a talking son of a bitch."

Houndour taunted, "Much better. Except now you have insulted my mother by comparing her to that red-headed creature standing next to you."

Jessie's cheeks turned red as she yelled, "How dare you, you little…"

Just then, the Meowth finally seemed to take notice of Houndour and jumped in front of Jessie and James, impairing Jessie from completing her rant and stared at Houndour. "Another talking Pokémon" Meowth marveled aloud.

"You must be the talking Meowth Misty told me about" Houndour said. He now recalled who these people were, from the stories Misty had told him. They were mediocre members of a crime syndicate called Team Rocket who had always followed around Ash in the hopes of stealing his Pikachu and any other Pokémon of value around him for Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket. He instantly realized that he would probably have to fight them.

"'Misty'?" Jessie asked.

"The first twerp-et. The one with the Water Pokémon and the short temper" James explained.

"Oh, right."

The over-emotional Meowth's eyes began to fill with tears as he exclaimed, "I never thought I would meet another talking Pokémon! Finally, someone who understands me!"

"The feeling is mutual, Meowth" Houndour said with a grin.

"Why did you learn to talk?" Meowth curiously asked.

"It sort of happened by accident" Houndour answered.

"Really? I learned how to talk to impress a fine female feline."

"How'd that work out?"

"Not so good."

"Well it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

"That's true."

"Meowth!" Jessie yelled, punching the top of the cat-like Pokémon's head. Houndour then noticed something else out of the ordinary about this Meowth; he stood on his hind legs. "Have you forgotten why we came here?!"

"Oh yeah" Meowth said, rubbing the top of his head. "Sorry buddy, but I gotta do what I gotta do."

"I understand" Houndour said. "And I must do what I must do to protect this gym."

Houndour did not feel threatened by this strange gang. He felt in all of their Aura's not feelings of greed and hatred, but of a strong desire to prove themselves. He then probed the Auras of the Pokémon in the fish tank. Most of them were really weak, inexperienced ones put there to mostly take up space. A lot of them were Goldeen. But then Houndour felt an exceptionally strong Aura; that of Misty's Gyarados.

"_Will you fight by my side?_" Houndour asked the monstrous sea-serpent-like Pokémon. Gyarados' mind gave a small indicator that it would.

Suddenly, Misty appeared next the fish tank and yelled, "Go away Team Rocket!"

Her sisters were standing next to her, wearing mermaid costumes. "Yeah, beat it!" Daisy yelled.

"You're ruining the show!" her other sister Lily hollered.

"This level of stress is so not good for my skin!" her third sister Violet complained.

In a flash, Jessie and James pulled out two large bazookas and rested them on their shoulders.

"Well, well, well if it isn't the Sensational Shrews and the little twerp-et" Jessie mocked, cocking her bazooka. "We'll see how good for your skin this is!"

She pulled the trigger on her weapon and out of it fired a large, pink blob that resembled a wad of gum. Misty pushed Violet out of the way and the projectile struck her in the stomach, knocking her to the ground. At the moment of impact the mass stretched, covering Misty's entire torso and her arms. Like glue, the mass stuck her to the floor and her legs flailed about as she tried to break free of it.

"What is this stuff?" Daisy asked as she, Lily, and Violet tried unsuccessfully to pull it off of Misty. Tracey then ran over to them to try and help.

"That's Team Rocket's trademarked Gum Bomb, guaranteed to stick anyone or anything to any surface" James bragged.

"Hey!" Houndour yelled, calling attention to him. "I see you're not afraid to pick on little girls but you must be scared to death of me!"

"Oh we didn't forget about you" James said, firing his bazooka at Houndour. At that moment a gleam appeared in Houndour's eyes; a gleam of pure excitement and experience that showed he was not the weak mutt he was when Misty found him but that he was now, once again, a Guardian of Aura. Fast as lightening, he jumped into the air, avoiding the blast by feet.

As he jumped towards the balloon, which was several feet above him, he shouted with his mind "_Now!_"

Gyarados jetted out of the water and allowed Houndour to use its head as a foothold. Jessie then fired another shot at them, but Gyarados let loose its Hyper Beam Attack to intercept it. As the yellow jet of energy collided with the Gum Bomb it created a huge explosion, filling the air with smoke. Houndour took this moment as an advantage and leaped off of Gyarados' head, through the smoke, and onto the top of the balloon.

"Get up there and stop him, Meowth!" Jessie ordered.

"Why me?" Meowth asked.

"Because we had to give all of our other Pokémon to the boss to avoid being fired…again" James reminded.

"Oh yeah" said Meowth. He then, with great effort and struggling, climbed on to the edge of the balloon and made his way to the top of it, on the opposite side from Houndour.

"Sorry about this, pal" Meowth said. "Perhaps on a different day I could've called you 'friend'."

"Perhaps that day is yet to come" Houndour suggested.

"Maybe but for now…" Meowth rushed at him, claws detracted, and attempted to land a Fury Swipes Attack. Houndour easily ducked away from all of the swipes and prepared to counter when suddenly a voice rang in his head.

"_Houndour!_" the voice yelled. The voice was Ash's. Houndour searched quickly for Ash's Aura. He could not feel it anywhere close by. This confused Houndour; there was no way Ash could have learned how to telepathically communicate from this great of a distance with the little amount of training he had received. "_We have to talk!_" Ash's voice asserted. He sounded greatly distressed.

"_I'm a little busy. Can't we do this later?_" Houndour replied.

"_No!_"

"_Ash I…_" Houndour's reply was cut off when Meowth's claws raked across his face. He felt a thin scratch form across his cheek, not deep enough to scar, but it hurt terribly. A thin trail of blood crawled down the side of his face.

Houndour then had no choice. What he did next he did not want to do, because he could feel how much pain Ash was in, but he blocked Ash's thoughts from his mind, allowing him to concentrate on the fight. He felt Ash trying to reestablish contact with him, but ignored him.

Houndour then let loose a jet of flames from his mouth that he aimed at Meowth's right side. The Flamethrower hit its mark, causing Meowth's fur to catch fire. Meowth bawled about sporadically, trying to blow out the flames with his mouth. Seizing the chance, Houndour ran at the dismayed feline and hit him square in the chest with Tackle Attack.

Meowth fell from the balloon into the fish tank. The water quickly extinguished the fire that was burning away at his fur. Meowth felt relief at this as he treaded water but then was gripped by fear as he stood face to face with Gyarados. Gyarados let out an ear-splitting roar as it closed its jaws around Meowth, holding him in its mouth. Gyarados then released Meowth on a large jet of water it shot from its mouth in a Hydro Pump Attack.

The Hydro Pump flung Meowth back into the basket, him crashing into Jessie and James as he landed. Houndour then bit a hole in the top of the balloon and jumped off of it. As air hissed out of it, the balloon flew wildly around the gym in all directions until it propelled itself out of the hole in the roof that it originally hailed from.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" Jessie and James yelled in unison as the balloon blasted away into the sky.

Houndour landed elegantly on top of Gyarados' head. "_Thank you, brother_" he said gratefully. Gyarados made a cheerful noise. Houndour then jumped down to where Misty's sisters were gathered around her, trying to peel the strange gum-like glue off of her.

"Are you ok?" Houndour asked.

"I think so" Misty replied, sounding as though the impact had knocked the breath out of her.

"We can't get this stuff to come off" Tracey said, his voice strained as he tried to pull the Gum Bomb from the floor.

"I wonder" Houndour said as he thought of something. He blew a small wisp of fire out of his mouth that hit a small corner of the pink mass. The part that was struck by the flames made a crackling sound and turned a darker shade. Tracey grabbed the charred part and it snapped off like a twig.

"That'll work" Houndour stated. He let a thin jet of flames escape his mouth and pour over the rest of the glue that was covering Misty. The blob hardened and solidified and Misty's sisters and Tracey pulled it off of her.

Misty stood up, gasping for breath, as the Gum Bomb had restricted her breathing. "Thanks Houndour" she said.

Before Houndour could reply, Misty's sister Daisy cut in, "Yeah, you totally saved the day. That's not the first time those creeps have tried to steal all our Pokémon."

Misty's sisters then knelt down on the floor and began petting Houndour and showering him with praise.

"You were so brave" complimented Lily.

"You're so cute" cheered Violet.

"I'm sorry that I ever didn't want to keep you" apologized Daisy.

Misty's sisters were about the same age and looked very similar but were distinguishable by their hair colors. Daisy had brownish blonde hair, Lily's hair was pink, and Violet's hair was a purplish blue.

"Ladies, ladies please, you're embarrassing me" Houndour said sarcastically.

"Three cheers for Houndour!" yelled Daisy. The audience roared in thunderous applause and ovation. A strange expression was on Houndour's face, as though this was the strangest thing in the world.

"And of course, Gyarados" reminded Houndour.

"Of course."

Misty gasped as she looked at the scratch on Houndour's face. "Houndour, you're hurt" she said, concerned.

"It's nothing" he said as he slid his paw over the tear and felt dried blood. He meant that statement. During his years as a stray he had experienced much worse injuries than this light scratch.

"Don't say that" Misty replied. "We need to get that cleaned up."

"Yeah, it could get infected" Tracey added.

"But what about the show?" Houndour asked.

"We can't do it with a giant hole in the roof" pointed out Lily.

"Yeah, and a bunch of glass fell in the tank" added in Violet.

"We'll just have to do this later" said Daisy.

Houndour was reluctant to receive pampering over this minor injury until he remembered why he received it. Ash had tried to contact him during the fight. Houndour could still feel him trying now. Houndour knew he had to go somewhere private to talk to him.

"If you insist" Houndour agreed.

"Come on, Houndour" Misty said as she led him to her bedroom. Once there Misty cleaned off his wound and sprayed Super Potion on it. Houndour asked her to close the door and when she did he let down his mind's defenses, allowing Ash to talk to him again.

"_Houndour!_" Ash yelled.

"_I heard you the first time. Now what is going on?_" Houndour replied.

"_Why did you block me out before?!_"

"_Team Rocket was attacking the gym when you tried to contact me. I had to fight them so I couldn't have you distracting me. Anyway, how are you doing this? How have you learned to communicate from a distance this quickly?_"

"_I didn't._"

Houndour then probed Ash's Aura and felt many other Auras telepathically linked with it. The Auras belonged to Pokémon, not humans.

"_You established a mental link with your Pokémon to use the strength of their Auras to let you do this with ease._"

"_Yes._"

"_That was clever._"

"_Enough!_"

"_What's wrong, Ash?_"

"_Why didn't you tell me?!_"

"_What?_"

"_When my parent's committed their so called 'crime' they thought they were going to die! They didn't know that there would be consequences! You knew that didn't you_?"

Houndour sighed. "_I did. One day when they went hiking they found themselves lost and then trapped in a cave for over a week with no food and scarce water. When we found them… it had already happened. _"

"_Why didn't you tell me?!_"

"_Why does it make any difference?_"

"_You had me believing that my father was a heartless monster who dumped my mom as soon as he got what he wanted!_"

"_How would this change that? The circumstances of your conception do not change the fact that he abandoned your mother to raise you by herself!_"

"_But he loved her!_"

"_I already told you that!_"

"_Then why did he leave her?!_"

"_I don't know!!_" Houndour yelled loudly with his mind and his voice."_I…I don't know. I don't know any more than you do. What do you want from me?_"

"_I want you to stop keeping secrets from me!_" He sounded not as though he was demanding this, but begging for it.

"_I c…I can't_."

"_How can you be this cruel Houndour?_" the voice of Pikachu asked. The other Pokémon connected with Ash's mind allowed their emotions to be transmitted to Houndour. They felt the same as Pikachu.

"Who said that?" Misty asked, never having heard Pikachu talk. Houndour then became aware that Misty had heard everything they had said.

Houndour went on, "_I don't want to keep secrets from you Ash, but I have to. _"

"_Why?!_"

"_We have to wait until you're old enough and experienced enough to be trusted with them._"

"_You don't trust me?!_" Ash sounded hurt and offended. A look of supreme guilt appeared on Houndour's face as he hung his head sadly.

"You aren't being fair to Houndour, Ash!" Misty cut in.

"He can't hear you" Houndour explained.

"Can you make it so he can hear me?"

"No. You aren't a Guardian or a Pokémon. It's impossible."

"_Don't ignore me!_" Ash yelled.

"_Ash, do you want to be a Guardian of Aura?_"

"_Yes!_"

"_Then you must respect our rules and traditions. If you wish to be trusted with our secrets then you must train with us and gain experience. If you want to learn more about your father, you must learn more about your grandfather. If you want your father's sin to be erased from the Earth then you must become a much better man than he wa_s!"

Ash stayed silent for a few moments. "_Fine_" he agreed after a while.

"_See you tomorrow?_"

"_Yeah._"

"_Goodbye._"

"_Bye._"

The mental link between them faded and Houndour could no longer hear Ash's thoughts. He sighed, his feelings of guilt and anguish having stayed with him.

Misty heard Daisy calling her and went to open the door. She began to say, "Houndour…"

"I don't want to talk about it" Houndour interrupted. Misty opened the door and disappeared behind it.

Houndour sighed heavily and under his breath whispered, "…Satoshi…"


	11. The Demise of the Guardians

Guardians of Aura Chapter 11

Two years passed since that day where Ash had decided to redeem his family name by becoming a Guardian of Aura much superior to his father. And what a full two years it was. Ash had been trained vigorously in the ways of martial arts and Aura Guiding by his grandfather while also dedicating his time to training his Pokémon to tackle the Sinnoh League once more. During this time he could almost never complain of boredom. With his grandfather he learned a wide variety of things such as swordsmanship, archery, stick fighting, and of course, hand-to-hand combat.

As Kamikaze had said, Ash felt his connection with his Aura grow stronger as his skill grew. In time the rudimentary powers that he was awkwardly aware that he possessed but had no real hold on began to fester and grow into something much more complex. As his skill in martial arts grew, slowly but surely his power over Aura began to manifest itself into something beyond what he had expected.

At first he merely noticed that he began to things more clearly, such as being able to spot a mountain or a tree from a farther distance than anyone else he would happen to be with but soon it became apparent, at least to him, that his abilities reached beyond that of any other human's. He at first noticed this when he was helping his mother bring box's of furniture into the house and carried one in that he, at first, thought was filled with cushions and lifted it effortlessly with one hand, his left hand, no less, and when he opened it discovered it was filled with heavy, wooden chair frames that he may have been able to lift before, but with a great struggle.

Eventually the day also came when Ash was able to consciously access his nonphysical powers. As with his unusual strength this day came by accident. One day he was playing chess with Brock when he was visiting from Pewter City and he unintentionally read his mind and discovered his next move and used this knowledge to beat him. Naturally he reported this revelation to Kamikaze who proceeded to teach him that reading someone's mind without their knowledge and consent violates their privacy and mental balance so he must use this ability with great discretion. Ash agreed. Kamikaze then taught Ash how to block his mind from being read, the way Houndour had when Ash tried to contact him during his battle with Team Rocket and also taught him how to make so only the person who he is trying to telepathically speak with can hear his thoughts when he is using telepathy.

Then, exactly two years after his training had begun, the two types of powers combined into one. One day, Ash was sparing with Kamikaze and doing rather poorly. The techniques and forms he had learned seemed to be failing him. There was no complicated reason for this; he was simply having an off day. But when he failed to control his frustration, as Kamikaze was about to strike him, he let loose a spontaneous Aura Sphere from his palm. Kamikaze was at first taken by surprise and barley managed to avoid the attack. After this occurrence Kamikaze calmly told Ash to gather his Pokémon and join him at the largest sparring ring at the top of the mountain.

That same day Ash stood in the middle of a giant sparring ring that was cut off from the rest of the training area by a surrounding trench, waiting for something. He noticed a slight movement out of the corner of his eye. A green blur shot passed his eye. He saw it again. Quick as a flash, his Sceptile charged at him, arm outstretched in a Leaf Blade attack. Ash quickly ducked out of the way of the Grass Type's attack.

Then, from the sky, Ash's Noctowl flew down like a bullet and tried to land a Peck. Ash jumped eight feet above the owl, easily dodging the strike.

Next, Ash's Totodile lunged at him using its alligator-like claws to use a Slash attack. The crocodilian Water Pokémon attempted to claw Ash eight times. Ash easily blocked all of these rakes with his forearms.

Then a Glalie, the sunlight reflecting off of its icy surface, lunged in Ash's line of vision, shooting numerous Ice Beams at him. Ash stepped from side to side, causing the rays to miss him by no more than an inch.

Subsequently a Monferno, having evolved from Ash's Chimchar erupted from the ground in a Dig Attack, its fist outstretched. Ash quickly grabbed the primate's arm and flung it 10 feet back. The monkey- like Pokémon landed on its feet but out of Ash's range.

Afterward, Pikachu appeared on the side of the field opposite of Ash. The electric mouse let loose a powerful bolt of lightening that headed straight for Ash. Fast as a cheetah, Ash threw a glowing blue Aura Sphere at the Thunderbolt. The sphere collided with the electric charge and, after a few moments of the blasts trying to overpower one another, they exploded.

As the dust settled the Pokémon prepared to strike again but Kamikaze's voice called, "Enough."

The old man walked onto the training field, Houndour at his side. A wide grin appeared on his dignified face. "Most impressive" he said.

"That's an understatement" Houndour added.

"Thanks" Ash replied proudly.

"_What about us?_" Pikachu asked.

"Forgive me if I forgot to mention you six" Kamikaze responded. "A more powerful team of Pokémon has never been assembled."

"_Thanks_" Pikachu replied, smiling. The other Pokémon seemed joyous at this remark.

"This is the team of Pokémon you plan to conquer the Sinnoh League with, correct Ash?" Kamikaze asked.

"Yep" Ash answered. "Depending on my opponents I might have to switch some of them around for some battles but this is the main team."

"And a fine team it is; strong, diverse, experienced." Ash nodded.

"Do you speak with them?" his grandfather asked.

"Yes" Ash replied, "but it's weird. Some of them think back in complete sentences like Pikachu but others tend to use few words."

Kamikaze pondered this for a second. "Besides Pikachu, it is Monferno and Noctowl you have the easiest time speaking with, isn't it?"

"Yeah" Ash said astonished. "How'd you know?"

"Mammal and bird Pokémon tend to have the easiest time understanding human speech. I suspect Sceptile is not so hard to converse with either. Seems like a rather intelligent species."

"That's about right."

"Glalie is the hardest."

"Yes."

"Totodile's speech is on some level between that of Sceptile's and Glalie's."

"Yeah."

"And as we all know, Pikachu's intelligence and speech comprehension are on the same level as any human."

"But don't let the mammal thing throw you off" Houndour said. "All Pokémon Guardians are like that, no matter what their species."

"Then why are you the only one who talks physically?" asked Ash.

"I have absolutely no idea" Houndour answered honestly and casually.

"So when is this competition?" Kamikaze asked.

"In two weeks" Ash explained. The Sinnoh League had changed the date of the competition to take place about a month after the previous one had due to some strange financial implication.

"Well good luck" said Houndour.

"Yes, Godspeed" added Kamikaze.

Though it may seem strange the word from that sentence that stuck most with Ash was the word "God".

"'God'?" Ash repeated. "I thought that our family was Buddhist."

"What do you mean?" asked Kamikaze.

"Are you a Buddhist like Sir Aaron or do you believe in God?"

"The answer is yes" the old man stated simply. This answer perplexed Ash; he had no religion and did not understand them well. He wondered if it was possible to be part of more than one, or if somehow these two faiths coincided.

For a while no one said anything but then Kamikaze asked, "Your friends from your travels are visiting today for a party to celebrate your taking on the Sinnoh League again, right?"

"Yes" Ash replied.

"When?"

"In a few hours."

"Then come with me. We have little time left."

Kamikaze and Houndour led Ash and Pikachu back inside the mountain into the caves. Ash recalled his other Pokémon back into their Pokéballs. He was lead into a rather large library filled with scrolls and books written in both English and Japanese. Kamikaze found a large blue case and set in on a reading table. When he opened it, a regal katana rested in its case inside of a blue sheath. Kamikaze lifted it up and handed it to Ash.

"It's yours now" the old man said.

"You…" Ash stuttered, gazing at the weapon. "You think I'm ready?"

"You are. May you be able to use it masterfully, and yet never have need to."

"This is, amazing" Ash said as he unsheathed the sword and gazed at its blade. The power he felt when holding a practice sword was nothing compared to what he felt now. "Thank you."

"You have earned it. But remember this; the power to take another living creature's life is a terrible burden and responsibility. It must be used with the utmost discretion. To kill should always be your last resort and desire. Though to be realistic I don't suppose that you would come across much reason to kill anyone, not in these days of peace for our nation."

Ash suddenly recognized the blade from a memory the Time Flower had showed him. "This was my father's sword" he said.

"Yes. It is your rightful inheritance."

"You aren't too ashamed of him to let a Guardian use his sword?"

"'Ashamed'?" Kamikaze repeated. "I was afraid of this. It seems I have misled you on how I feel about your father. Ash…" he paused. "I feel no hatred or anger towards my son. I was sad and disappointed when he left. But I believe that if he never died he would have ended up doing the right thing. I loved him. I still love him with all my heart, as much as I love my wife, Houndour, and you." Ash felt in Kamikaze's Aura that he was telling the truth.

"Now," Kamikaze said before Ash could respond. "You have earned another right on this day; the day where you have used Aura Sphere for the first time; one of the first rites of passages for Guardians."

"What's that?"

"I will tell you the answer to your questions."

"Which ones?"

"The reasons why I live in hiding, why the Guardians of Aura are extinct, and the identities of our enemies: these will no longer remain secret to you."

Ash became eager. "Okay. Which first?"

"I will reveal them all at once. Sit down." The sat down on two chairs by the reading desk. Houndour and Pikachu sat on the floor.

"It all began in the year 1854. After Tokugawa Ieyasu had taken total control of Japan in 1600 he had declared it cut off from the rest of the world. Our nation became completely isolated; free of foreign trade, religions, cultures, and interactions. But in 1854 the American Captain Matthew Perry with his fleet of modern ships landed on Japanese shores and forced our country to open itself to foreign trade. The samurai warriors who controlled Japan still used weapons of the medieval era such as swords and arrows and knew they could never defeat modern armies. They allowed the opening to occur and the samurai class disbanded."

"The Guardians of Aura were much less willing to allow this to happen. Though something you must understand is that the Guardians at this point were not an organized order of warriors. Most of them were just incredibly powerful samurai. With the samurai class disbanded the Guardians could not systematize an army able to repel the Westerners. So as Japan's opening and modernization began the Guardians secretly formed an order of themselves, creating systems of Guardian training among other things modeled after the samurai's systems. Eventually they became so refined and well-organized that they were able the conglomerate into an army."

"One day the Guardians faced a Western army in battle as part of a rebellion against their developing on Japanese soil. They defeated them quite easily, their army not losing a single man while hundreds of Westerners fell. As you know, seeing as you posses this skill, Guardians of Aura can produce shields of their Aura that encompass their bodies and protect them from any sort of physical danger. These shields made bullets and guns as useless as throwing coins. 'Look how powerful we are' the Guardians told the defeated Westerners. 'Surely we could destroy all of you at our will. The fate of this land is ours to decide' they proclaimed."

"The Westerners and the Guardians reached an agreement. The Guardians would cease their rebellions and in exchange they would be allowed to continue practicing their traditions and maintain a strong military and political influence over Japan."

"This treaty brought forth peace but many Guardians disagreed with it. One in particular, whose name was Tanaka Yoshiro, believed that the Guardians should use their might to take total control of Japan and America. Many people agreed and sided with him but many members of the Guardian Council did not trust him. For you see, there is a reason why all Guardians received their power Ash. It is not because your father possessed it as well that you have the power to guide Aura."

"It's not?" asked Ash.

"No. You see, the power to guide Aura is not inherited. You have it because the Tree of Beginning judged you worthy of it and gave it to you."

"You mean I couldn't use Aura before I helped Lucario save the Tree?" Ash asked.

"Right" replied Houndour.

"Then why could I use Time Flowers before then?"

Kamikaze answered, "Your Aura felt familiar to it. Being able to access a Time Flower was often regarded as a sign that a person was ready to be judged by the Tree. Though a rare occurrence was when a person with an Aura familiar to a Time Flower could use the Flowers and yet never received powers from the Tree."

"But anyway, Tanaka was from a wealthy and powerful family with a proud Guardian legacy. Ours was probably the only family more respect by fellow Guardians, since it was the first Guardian Clan. Nearly every member of the Yoshiro family who had been judged by the Tree of Beginning had been judged worthy by it, except for Tanaka. He had trained his entire life in the ways of martial arts and was rather gifted and talented. However when he had the Tree pass its judgment on him he found that it did not view him as worthy of the Gift."

"Tanaka was heartbroken. He was considered a disgrace to his family. The Guardian term 'Seedling' became nothing short of a hateful slur that people would jeer at him. He could barely stand the grief. He returned to the Tree hundreds of times after training to the point of dangerous exhaustion for judgment. Every time he returned empty-handed. The dishonor was so unbearable that he contemplated suicide."

"Tanaka's father came up with a beastly solution to the problem. One day Tanaka's father fell ill and dying. As his strength faded he blessed Tanaka with his Aura. This may seem rather nice since you already know that Guardians could transfer the power of their Aura's to another being to give them strength. However, his father intentionally sacrificed so much of his Aura that he died. Because of this, his power stayed with Tanaka."

"The other Guardians of Aura were very unpleased with this. The Tree of Beginning's power was considered sacred, its judgment unquestionable. The fact that Tanaka had the Gift against the Tree's volition was very unsettling as the Tree judges not only one's prowess as a warrior but one's morality and sense of honor and courage. Many Guardians felt that Tanaka's heart must have had great darkness in it if the Tree had refused him so many times. Despite this, they admitted him as one of them, though banned the suicidal practice that gave him his power."

"In spite of the Guardians' Law, Tanaka felt the temptation to use the same method to gain more power. When his brother had become fatally ill he convinced him to repeat his father's actions. He became twice as powerful as before. In time he began to grow relationships of all kinds with many Guardians merely for the sake of doing this. Every time one of his so called 'allies' was on the precipice of death he would secretly convince them to give him the strength of their Aura's so that their power could help keep the peace in Japan after their passing, or so was the explanation he gave them."

"So as I said before the Guardian Council did not trust him because of the dishonorable way he had obtained his status as a Guardian, though he gained many supporters in his campaign to make the Guardians the enemies of the West. Not only that, but as Tanaka had grown to hate himself when he failed to become a Guardian he had grown to hate all humans who couldn't use Aura. He called these people Thorns. He felt that the Guardians should take control of the entire world from the Thorns, feeling that it was their natural right as what he called 'superior beings'. The Guardian Council believed this to be extremism and would not hear him out."

"However, in our nation's darkest our, Tanaka got his chance. During World War II, Japan joined the side of Nazi Germany and attempted to take control of all of Asia. The government of Japan asked the Guardians for their military help, knowing that with them on their side they would be invincible. Tanaka and his group, who he called the Prophets, sided with Japan, seeing this as an opportunity to take control of the world for the Guardians but the Guardian Council opposed this decision when they discovered the happenings of the Holocaust. They knew that if Japan fought on the same side as Adolf Hitler, the leader of Germany during the war, they would be fighting on the side of evil."

"The True Guardians, the Guardians contrasting Tanaka's decision opposed Japan from within itself, sending Guardians to help the Ally armies. Eventually the True Guardians formed and agreement with the United States of America. They offered them their full military support in the war. Tanaka viewed this as treason since America was directly responsible for the demise of the samurai, which is why he had requested the bombing of Pearl Harbor earlier."

"So the True Guardians and the Prophets fought in a bloody war against each other. Guardians would be soldiers in armies on both sides, aiding the Allies and Axis powers in their many battles. Their forces became so thinly spread and the fighting became so intense that Guardians would finally learn what it was like to be killed by Thorns. With modern machine guns and bombs barraging them as well as other Guardians attacking them, it became common for a stray bullet to wonder past a Guardian's defenses and kill him."

"The Guardians of Aura soon became divided completely in half and the fighting seemed endless. The True Guardians knew that they could never overpower the Prophets from within their own country and so they asked their American friends to come up with a solution. The Americans began the Manhattan Project, their attempt to create a weapon powerful enough to defeat Japan and the Prophets." Kamikaze paused and closed his eyes.

"On August 6, 1945 the United States dropped the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima Japan, causing devastating damage. 'You see how powerful our allies are?' the True Guardians boasted to the Prophets. 'With our power combined with theirs' you can't defeat us!' Tanaka became enraged at this insult on his honor. Arrogantly he sent the full force of his military might to destroy the True Guardians once and for all."

"The True Guardians and the Prophets met on Nagasaki for one final battle. The armies that clashed were made of almost every Guardian on both sides. For two days they fought an unrelenting battle, neither side backing down. After a while, the Prophets began to prevail, but to defeat them was not the True Guardians' plan. On August 9, 1945 the U.S. dropped a second Atomic Bomb on Nagasaki, directly on top of the Guardians' battlefield. The sheer power of the nuclear weapon overwhelmed the Guardians. It completely annihilated every trace of the battle. The Guardians' shields and power were no match for it. Every single Guardian in the battle was killed by the blast and so was every person close enough to witness it. Their swords, clothes, bodies; everything, everything that was evidence that the battle had occurred was disintegrated by the explosion. The True Guardians had sacrificed themselves to stop the Prophets."

"After the bombing, Japan knew that they were defeated and surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, but the fighting was not over for the Guardians. Most of the Guardians had been eradicated in the bombing but on both sides there was a small fraction left of those who did not participate in the battle. I was one of them. I was 20 years-old at the time. My colleagues and I knew that it was our job to complete the conquering of the Prophets."

"So we spent the aftermath of the war hunting down and slaying the final Prophets. The struggle to have the last Guardian standing on our side was great for it would be that Guardian's job to continue the legacy. The struggling was fierce, to say the least, and it ended with me and Houndour being the only Guardians left alive."

Ash remained silent for a while but then asked, "What about Tanaka?"

"He wasn't in the final battle. I killed him" Kamikaze said quietly.

He went on to explain, "Before the war my father, the leader of the True Guardians was his greatest rival who openly opposed him. During the war Tanaka took special care to find my father and to dispatch of him. Because of this when the quest to take out the final surviving Prophets began I sought him out and I…avenged my father."

No one said anything for a while. Kamikaze sighed and then went on, "After it was all over the Americans knew how powerful of a threat to world peace the Guardians could be if they were ever to come back and so as they occupied Japan after the war they ordered a ban on all Guardian culture. Every last piece of evidence of the existence of the Guardians was found and destroyed. Everyone who knew anything about the Guardians was silenced, one way or another."

"When this began I dedicated myself to preserving every last piece of our culture that I could. I found everything that I could get my hands on that would help the legacy of the Guardians live on and retreated to these mountains. That is why I live almost entirely in secret."

"Then why does Cameron Palace have that painting of Sir Aaron?" asked Ash.

"As the occupation of Japan dragged on its policies became more relaxed."

"Then why do you still live in hiding?"

"For a while I didn't. During that time is when I was married and became a father. After Satoshi died and Houndour was separated from me I returned to my self-imposed exile."

"How did you and Houndour get separated?"

It was Houndour who answered. "After Satoshi ran away I took the liberty of looking for him myself to try to convince him to return. I figured that I could cover more ground alone. Somewhere along the way, before I could find him, my memory blanked out and I was lost."

"_How?_" asked Pikachu.

"I don't know" Houndour said.

"It is because of you that he was able to return" Kamikaze said to Ash.

"Me?" Ash replied astonished.

"You carried the Stone of Aura that restored his memory."

"Oh yeah. What is a Stone of Aura, anyway?"

"An amulet carved from the living crystal that the Tree of Begging is composed of. The Tree has been known to vicariously act out its will through these Stones. Because of that Guardians of Aura often kept them as charms. Also, as you know, Stones of Aura glow when they are touched by an Aura Guider."

Kamikaze then pulled a Stone of Aura out of his sleeves and handed it to Ash. "This is the Stone that restored Houndour's memory. It is rightfully yours" he said.

"Are you sure?" Ash asked.

"Yes. I already have one of my own anyway."

Ash marveled at the gifts in his hands. The sword and the Stone of Aura both felt equally magnificent to touch. Ash then suddenly realized how long that he had been there and that his friends would be arriving soon.

"I should go now" he said.

"Of course."

Ash began to leave but then stopped when he suddenly became aware that he was holding a four feet long deadly weapon.

"I should probably leave the sword here when I'm not using it."

"That would probably be smart."

Ash set the sword on the table and turned back to leave. As he reached the exit he turned around and said very gratefully, "Thank you, "Ash then smiled widely and added, "Sensei."

"You are very welcome" said Kamikaze, "grandson."


	12. A 64 Year Old War

Guardians of Aura Chapter 12

At a small American occupation base in the Japanese mountains a few dozen soldiers sat out in the open, enjoying each others company on a foggy day. Overseeing the occupation of Japan was one of the least eventful or dangerous jobs in the United States Military seeing as the war had ended over 60 years ago and Japan had given practically no indication that it could still possibly be a threat. This group of soldiers was rather lazy and un-ambitious. They sat and spoke of their lives back home and of other more dull subjects. Bottles of beer and cigarettes rested in their hands.

Suddenly, something subtle in the fog caught the soldiers' attention. They saw the silhouettes of many people walking towards them. The soldiers stood up and grabbed their machine guns.

"Sorry folks" their leader said to the crowd. "This base is restricted to all civilians. I'm gonna have to ask ya to leave."

The man standing in front of the large group of mysterious strangers turned his head to a person on his left and nodded. The man he had turned to pulled out a large bow and a long arrow. He drew the arrow across the bowstring and released. The arrow flew through the air and pierced one of the soldiers in the chest. The man fell to the ground, writhing in pain and grabbed the arrow, as if to pull it out, but died.

The soldiers became alarmed and aimed their weapons at the mass of strange enemies.

"Drop your weapons and surrender!" the leader shouted. Then men didn't move.

"We will shoot you!" Nothing happened.

"Open fire!"

The men pulled the triggers on their weapons and a sea of bullets was let loose on the strangers. They stood still. The shots were all direct hits, but the bullets fell to the ground dented like a pile of broken pebbles.

The man standing in the middle of the strange crowd smirked a very murderous smile as the men behind him drew their swords.


	13. Reunion

Guardians of Aura Chapter 13

Ash and Pikachu, along with Houndour stood in the backyard of Professor Oak's laboratory where about half a dozen picnic tables were set up and on the building hung a banister with the words "Good Luck" written on it in bold print.

"_I can't wait to see our friends!_" Pikachu cheered excitedly.

"Yeah it's been so long since we've seen most of them" said Ash.

"_Yeah and now I can talk to them!_"

"No" Houndour said simply.

"_What?_"

"You could blow our cover. Don't talk to anyone besides Misty."

"_That's not fair! You get to talk to whoever you want!_"

"That's different; I speak physically and Meowth has helped me prove that any Pokémon can learn how to do that. Explaining how an Electric Type Pikachu managed to posses the Psychic ability of telepathy would be a bit harder."

"_It still isn't fair._"

"Hey, here comes Misty" Ash said, mostly as an effort to stop the arguing. Sure enough, an instant later, Misty stood in front of them.

"Hey guys" she greeted.

"Hey Misty" Ash said, placing his hand on her shoulder in a friendly manner. "How's it going?"

Patting Ash's hand as it rested on her shoulder, Misty replied, "Great."

"_Hi Misty!_" Pikachu blurted happily. The yellow mouse's voice coupled with his appearance could only be described as what most would call cute.

"Hi there Pikachu" Misty said as she kneeled down and rubbed the mouse's head affectionately.

"_Your hands are so soft._"

"Thanks Pikachu."

"Kiss up" Houndour muttered audibly.

"Are you jealous Houndour?" Misty teased.

"Jealous? Me? Of course not, I take offense to that."

"Whatever you say" Misty said as she scratched Houndour's ears and then stood up.

"So how's everything at the gym?" Ash asked.

"Pretty boring; it's just the same old routine every day" Misty replied.

"At least you have Houndour to liven things up."

"Yeah if I can get him away from you for even a second, you two sure keep yourselves busy these days."

"I'm not going to win the Sinnoh League by lazing around every day."

"That and your _special _training keep you busy I guess."

"Uh…yeah." This was the first time he or Misty had actually mentioned Ash's Guardian training to either one of them.

"How is that special training going anyway Ash?"

"Uh...pretty good."

"Shush!" Houndour yelled. "The walls have ears!"

"What are you talking about Houndour? The…you know whats…are dead" Ash reminded. "We don't have anything to worry about."

"I suppose. But when you've guarded a secret for the last 60 years of your life you aren't exactly quick to change that habit."

"'60 years'?" Misty repeated. "How old are you Houndour?"

"84."

"What? You don't seem that old."

"I'm flattered."

Ash suddenly realized, "Wait, if you're that old then you're exactly the same age as…you know who."

"Misty knows who your grandfather is Ash" Houndour said. "And something amazing about Guardian partners is that they are virtually always born on the same day."

Ash then gazed at Pikachu. He wondered if this was true. Were he and Pikachu the exact same age?

His ears perking up, Houndour said, "Someone's coming."

"Who?" asked Misty.

Houndour closed his eyes and scanned the Aura's of the surrounding area. "Brock" he stated.

A few moments later, Brock walked stood between Ash and Misty. "Hey guys" he said.

"What's up Brock?" Ash said.

"Hi Brock" Misty greeted.

Brock wrapped one arm around either Ash or Misty and proclaimed, "There's nothing like friendship to help me through this difficult time!"

"I take it that your date didn't go over too well" Ash said.

"Alas no" Brock said sorrowfully.

"Aw, what happened Brock?" Misty asked sympathetically.

"I either lost her when I asked her to marry me or when I said we should name our first-born 'Rocky'."

"Man Brock, it was only the first date" Ash observed.

"I can't help it" Brock sighed. "When I see a beautiful woman I just want to rip my heart out and give to her as a sign of my total devotion…AH!" Brock had been cut off by a purple Croagunk erupting from one of his Pokéballs and stabbing him in the side with a Poison Jab attack.

Brock fell to the ground with a thud. "Very passionate" Houndour scoffed as he looked down at Brock.

"Someone else is coming. This time it's two people" the dog-like Pokémon said as he heard footsteps with his keen ears.

A moment after he had said that, a girl accompanied by a little boy appeared in the mix. The girl wore a green bandana on her head as well as an orange top and black bicycle shorts and was about the same age as Ash, maybe a few years younger. The boy next to her had a green polo shirt and brown shorts and appeared to be prepubescent. They were Ash and Brock's old travelling companions May and her little brother Max.

"Guys!" May yelled, embracing them in a group-hug. It was awkward and crowded to try and hug all of them but regardless May said, "I'm so happy to see all of you!"

"Man, calm down May" Ash said.

"I can't" the young girl said. "Look!" she yelled holding a gold-colored object in her hand. It was a large trophy with the words "Grand Festival" written on it.

"You won the Ribbon Cup?" Brock asked.

"Yes!" May cheered.

"That's great May!" Ash complimented.

"Is that a Houndour?" the boy next to her asked.

Misty answered before Houndour got the chance, "Yeah, he's a Houndour that I found two years ago."

"Wow he's cool" Max said as he kneeled down and gazed at Houndour.

"Don't you know that it's impolite to stare, little boy?" Houndour scolded.

"Whoa!" Max yelled, jumping back. "He can talk!"

"Wow a talking Houndour "May marveled.

"That is so cool!" Max exclaimed.

"Don't worry, the shock wears off soon enough" Brock assured.

"Well that made me feel special" Houndour sighed, sounding hurt.

"So what time are we going to have lunch?" May asked.

"Oh, so this is the girl you said is always thinking with her stomach" Houndour said as he recalled stories Ash had told him of his life.

"Beg your pardon?" May said.

"Nothing; no disrespect meant at all" Houndour reassured.

"Nice to know that you talk about me behind my back Ash" May said.

"What, I don't" Ash protested.

"That's right" Houndour added. "His recollections only place you in a flattering and humorous light, like that time when you were a little girl at the beach and were surrounded by Tentacool and you cried out for your mother but she thought you were a Tentacool and tried to capture you."

"Ash!" May exclaimed as she stepped on Ash's foot. Ash winced when he expected a wave of pain to wash over his foot but was surprised when one didn't come.

"Dawn's coming" Houndour stated simply. That exact second, Dawn walked up to the crowd of friends.

"Hi everyone" she greeted.

"Hi Dawn" most of them greeted at once.

"How's it going?' Ash asked.

"Pretty good."

"How'd the Grand Festival work out?" Brock said. After the Sinnoh League, Brock and Ash had returned to their homes (Max had already been at his and May's home) while Dawn and May had continued their separate and solitary quests as Pokémon Coordinators.

"Not so good" Dawn said, drooping her head. She had been just starting out as a Pokémon Coordinator when she had joined Ash on his journey.

"That's too bad" May said understandingly, being a fellow Coordinator and understanding how Dawn felt.

"It's all right" Dawn replied. "I know that my mom's disappointed but she doesn't act like it."

"Now what kind of mood is that for a party?" Houndour asked.

"Sorry Houndour."

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to yourself. You're still young and you're going to have a lot more chances at this. There's no need to get sad because it didn't work out right away."

"I know. Thanks Houndour" Dawn said.

"No problem. Now what are we standing around waiting for? Let's eat!"

For the next hour the old friends feasted and recalled stories of their travels. They ate wide varieties of food from sandwiches to fruit and cookies and French fries. Professor Oak allowed them privacy in his yard, not wanting to get in the way. Tracey would have been there had he not been compiling research for a report he and Oak were working on.

Well into the afternoon, Ash heard another familiar, yet less pleasant voice. It said, "You have to be kidding me."

Ash turned in his chair at the picnic table and glared at the figure who had said that. It was Paul.

"You haven't given up yet, have you?" Paul asked coldly.

"This is a private party. What are you doing here?" Ash replied.

"Someone in town said you were trying to win the Sinnoh League again and I had to see it for myself. Idiot, when are you going to realize that you can't win? You're weak and you don't have it in you."

Ash clenched his fists in anger. "Don't let your anger control you" Houndour whispered. "Words aren't worth fighting over."

"I've been training for two years Paul!" Ash replied. "I've dedicated myself to being ready for the Sinnoh League! I am ready!"

Paul was still calm but the volume of his voice increased, "You're a pathetic loser and you'll never be as good as me. You've never been able to beat me and you never will. Not unless you stop being such a wimp and push your Pokémon to their limits."

"The limits you mean are life and death!" Ash yelled. "You don't care about your Pokémon and you would work them to death if it would help you win!"

"You're still thinking like a little kid" Paul scoffed. "When are you going to realize that a Pokémon's worth is only measured by how well it can battle?"

"When Grumpigs fly!"

"Well if you're so confident, let's battle right now."

"I thought you would never ask!"

"Don't let this guy work you up Ash" Misty whispered.

"I know what I'm doing" Ash replied as he stood up.

"_Ash_" Houndour said with his mind. "_I realize that Pokémon battling is deeper than mere fighting so I'm not going to try to stop you but I must warn; a true Guardian of Aura feels pain at every life he takes, every Aura he extinguishes and so laments the task of murder and even is burdened by the task of hurting another living creature non-fatally. What I am saying is that you must fight Paul only as a last resort and only to protect yourself; only if he starts it. Do not use violence merely to release anger like last time._"

"_I won't_" Ash promised.

"Are you coming?" Paul impatiently asked.

Ash ran over to him. "What are the rules?" he asked.

"Does one-on-one sound good to you?"

"All or nothing? That's just fine with me!" 

Paul pulled a Pokéball out of his pocket and threw it into the air. As the ball open a blast of light shot out of it and took the form of a fearsome Tyranitar.

"There's one Pokémon that I know would want to win this battle" Ash said to himself. He pulled Monferno's Pokéball off of his belt and released the monkey-like Pokémon.

Monferno gazed scornfully at Paul. Paul had originally been Monferno's trainer when he was a Chimchar but had adondoned him when he failed to meet his high standards of battling. Afterwards Ash had taken in Chimchar and trained him as his own.

"_Are you ready?_" Ash asked Monferno with his mind.

"_I've been waiting for this for a long time_" the fire Pokémon thought.

"Let's do this already!" Paul ordered.

"All right!"

They stood in a large, grassy clearing behind the laboratory. Monferno and Tyranitar squared off.

"Use Hyper Beam!" Paul yelled.

"Jump!" Ash shouted. Tyranitar fired a yellow beam of energy at Monferno and the monkey jumped over it.

"_You aren't hurting me again Paul!_" Monferno thought.

"Use Mach Punch!" Ash said. Monferno threw its fist forward and a beam of blue light shot from it in the shape of it and collided with Tyranitar.

"_Now use Flame Wheel_" Ash said telepathically, using his Gift to give him an edge. Monferno curled into a ball and his body became engulfed in flames and he rolled through the air and crashed into Tyranitar. Tyranitar held its hands out and blocked the attack but Monferno wouldn't relent and they remained in the clash, neither of them giving and inch.

"_Give it more power! You're stronger than him, you can do it Monferno!_" Ash encouraged.

The fire in the Flame Wheel grew and Monferno shouted with his mind, "_Is this finally good enough for you Paul?!_"

"Push it back Tyranitar!" Paul bellowed. The green, dinosaur-like monster roared with effort as it tried to repel the Flame Wheel with its bear hands.

"_I gave you friendship and loyalty and you spat in my face!_" Monferno yelled.

Neither of the Pokémon gained any progress. "_You have to push harder_" Ash urged.

"_I'm trying!_" Monferno replied.

"_Just a little more power._"

"_I'm trying!_"

Monferno's mind shouted with rage as it tried to overpower the larger Pokémon. Suddenly, Ash felt a strange rush of power surge through Monferno's Aura. The fire of the Flame Wheel was surrounded by a red, flashing energy. Monferno pushed passed Tyranitar's arms and the Flame Wheel collided with its chest. Tyranitar fell to the ground.

Monferno bounced off of Tyranitar and glared at Paul. The red light that had given the Flame Wheel the strength to out-muscle Tyranitar surrounded Monferno's body. Monferno had a fierce grin on its face, its sharp teeth bared. Suddenly, a flame engulfed both of its arms.

"Blaze" Paul said awed.

"Fire Punch" Ash said at the same time. He then yelled, "Ok, Fire Punch, let's go!"

Monferno ran at Tyranitar, one first held back and as the Rock Type stood up, slammed that fist into Tyranitar's belly.

"_Is that good enough Paul?!_" Monferno yelled. He slammed his other flaming fist into Tyranitar's jaw. "_How about that?!_" Monferno then began a series of lightning fast, super strong punches, the flame on his arms empowered by his Blaze ability he was too fast and strong for Tyranitar to counter.

"_All I ever wanted was to make you proud of me and all you ever did was treat me like dirt!_" Monferno threw two more punches. Tyranitar roared in pain. "_Are you finally proud of me?!_" He threw three more punches. "_Are you?!_" He punched Tyranitar in both eyes. "_Are you?!!_" This time he threw both fists forward at the same time and when they slammed into Tyranitar it fell to the ground unconscious.

"Get up!" Paul yelled. Tyranitar remained motionless. "Worthless!" Paul shouted as he recalled Tyranitar into its Pokéball.

Ash ran up to Monferno and kneeled down beside him. "You did great" he congratulated.

"_Guess I was a little carried away though_" Monferno said as the red light of its Blaze flickered away. "_I don't need Paul to be proud of me, not when I have you._"

"That's right, now how about a nice, long rest?" Ash said, recalling Monferno into his Pokéball.

Paul grunted heavily and suddenly shouted in supreme rage. He ran over to Ash and kicked him in the face.

Ash fell over but stood up and said, "Why'd you do that?"

Ash's friends rushed over to the seen. Paul panted heavily and shouted, "I worked day and night to unlock the power of that Pokémon's Blaze ability! There is no way you should have been able to do that when I couldn't, you worthless, little, prick!"

Paul threw a punch aimed for Ash's jaw but Ash veered away from Paul's fist. Paul tried many more times to punch Ash but every time, Ash either blocked or dodged the attack, he was using the combat skills Kamikaze had taught him. As Paul tried to land a right-cross, Ash grabbed Paul's attacking hand with his left one. He then realized that as the fist collided with his palm he felt no pain as he might if he tried that block with Kamikaze; he also realized that it hadn't hurt when Paul had kicked him.

As he watched from the sidelines, Houndour apparently sensed what Ash was thinking and told him telepathically, "_You have accessed Aura Sphere. Your body and Aura are now too strong to be hurt by an unarmed Thorn. Paul is at your mercy._"

Ash still kept a grip on Paul's right hand and as the purple-haired boy tried to wrench free he wondered what he should do next. Should he punch Paul? He didn't need to; Paul couldn't hurt him either way. But he still didn't like Paul and had often fantasized about breaking his nose. Then again, it would be wrong to hurt him just because he could. But if he just stood there and let Paul hit him without getting hurt his friends would get suspicious. He would punch him once to make it convincing.

As Ash clenched his free hand into a fist and prepared to strike, Houndour yelled, "_Wait! You don't understand your strength yet. You could accidently kill him!_"

Ash released Paul's hand. Paul tended to his hand for a few seconds and then punched again. Ash dodged the punch, grabbed Paul's arm, and locked it behind his back in a twist. As Ash held Paul in this joint lock he said, "It's over." He then pushed Paul with one hand and the defeated trainer fell flat on his face.

Paul rose to his feet and began to charge at Ash but Brock came up behind him and grabbed his arms and Misty, May and Dawn jumped between them.

"Get out of here Paul!" Dawn commanded.

"Yeah leave Ash alone!" Misty shouted.

"He won fair and square!" May asserted.

Paul pulled away from Brock and as he trudged away yelled, "Your girlfriends aren't going to be here to protect you next time!"

When Paul was gone, Brock asked, "Did he just call me Ash's girlfriend?"

"Yes. You are a very beautiful woman and what man wouldn't want you and all the other girls are just jealous" Houndour mocked. Everyone laughed.

"Thanks for the backup guys" Ash said.

"That's what friends are for Ash" Brock replied. "You're not getting into any fights without me there to bail you out."

"Doesn't look like he needed it from where I was standing" Houndour pointed out.

"Yeah, how did you do that Ash?" May asked.

"How did I do what?" Ash replied.

"Back there; that was amazing!"

"Yeah, where'd you learn to fight like that?" Dawn asked.

"What that?" Ash shrugged, proud of himself. "That was nothing."

"Keep your ego in check Ash" Houndour warned.

"What in the world is going on here?" a voice asked from out of nowhere. In an instant, Professor Oak was walking over to the group, Tracey walking next to him.

"Hi Professor Oak" Ash greeted his old mentor warmly.

"Hello Ash" Oak replied. "Hello everyone."

Everyone else exchanged a short greeting with the Professor and with Tracey but Dawn seemed extra happy to see Oak. Though Oak was most widely respected for his work as a Pokémon scientist he was also known for his prowess as a writer of Pokémon poetry, an aspect of him that Dawn venerated greatly. Naturally, as soon as she saw him, she ran up to the elderly professor and begged him to recite one of his poems.

"Very well" the old poet said. "A haiku; Pokémon are friends. Partners to be treasured well. They deserve our love."

"Wonderful" Dawn said as she clasped her hands together.

"I don't get why you're so hung up on poetry Dawn" Ash scoffed.

"I would expect that from you Ash. Boys never understand this sort of thing" Dawn replied.

"Many samurai warriors were famous for their poetry" Houndour interjected. "Besides, last time I checked, the good Professor was a boy."

"Yes" Oak said as he eyed Houndour suspiciously. "One might wonder how a Pokémon would know anything about the samurai Houndour."

"One might" Houndour nodded. He made no indication that he would continue his statement. His and Oak's eyes met for one brief moment. Houndour suddenly felt as though he unexpectedly remembered that he had known Oak over 15 years ago and he wondered if the Professor remembered. It seemed for a while that they were locked in a battle of wits, both waiting for the other to say something.

"Yes, well anyway" Oak started, "Ash I'm afraid that I have to ask you all to leave now."

"Ok" Ash acknowledged, "But why?"

"Many of my colleagues are visiting to discuss a hitch I have come across in my studies and we will need to make use of the backyard to conduct our research."

"Ok."

"Is it that Ghost Pokémon thing?" Tracey whispered.

"Yes" Oak said, sounding embarrassed.

Max suddenly popped up and asked, "What are you going to research Professor, and how?" Max had always had a deep fascination with Pokémon.

Professor Oak chuckled nervously. "It…would be a bit inappropriate to discuss that with you Max."

"Aw, come on."

"Don't pester him Max" May reprimanded.

"That's quite all right" Oak assured.

"What're we going to do now?" Misty posed.

Ash abruptly thought of an idea. He said, "I know. Let's go for a walk in the mountains." Ash had been on many nature walks through the mountains of Pallet with his grandfather and knew them well. "There's lots of Pokémon there and I know where there's a cool little lake we could hang out by." Everyone seemed enthusiastic about his idea.

Meanwhile, at the top of a hill about 50 feet away stood a man and a woman wearing black uniforms that had red R's inscribed on them, identical to those on Jessie and James' Team Rocket uniforms. The man had green hair and the woman had golden colored hair. They both had holsters on their right hips which held loaded revolvers.

The woman spoke into a communicator device on her wrist. She said, "I repeat, this is Cassidy, can you hear me? Over."

A muffled voice from the communicator responded, "I apologize for the technical glitch. I hear you crystal clear Agent Cassidy. Are you sure the kid you saw is one of the people our boss is looking for? Over."

Cassidy replied, "He pushed that kid nearly 20 feet with one hand. No one but one of _them_ should be that strong."

The man next to her added, as he gazed at a strange radar device in his hand, "And the electro-magnetic pulses emitting from his body are off the scale." As he pointed the antenna of the strange machine towards the distant shadow of Ash, the needle in the center of it span out of control. "It's unnatural."

"Not for one of those freaks" Cassidy said, covering the communicator with her other hand.

"Very well" the electronic voice said. "Apprehend him and bring him to the rendezvous point alive. Over."

"He's not alone. Over." Cassidy informed.

"Who is with him? Over." the voice asked.

"A bunch of other kids and an old man, but we've been listening to them and we know that he's leaving the old man. Soon enough the kids will be wondering through the mountains, alone. Over."

"All right, we don't need the cops snooping around so try to avoid any killings or maiming and don't get trigger-happy. However, bring the Aura Child to us by any means necessary. Try to avoid harming his friends but do whatever is essential to bring that kid to the rendezvous point. You may use any methods needed to contain the others but do not hurt him. If his friends see you take him then capture them too but if not leave them be; make sure as few people know about this as possible. Over."

"Understood" Cassidy replied, "We'll have the prisoner at the rendezvous point within the hour. Over."

"Very good. Over and out."

The man pulled out his pistol and began twirling it in his hands. "I guess we get to use our new toys now" he said eagerly in a raspy voice.

"Put that thing away, you'll shoot somebody's eye out Butch" Cassidy ordered.

"You're no fun" Butch said, placing his gun back in its holster.

"We don't have time for fun. Let's go get that kid."

**Author's note: if there are any noticeable errors in grammar, spelling, or anything else please inform me so I can fix them. **


	14. Nobutada

Guardians of Aura Chapter 14

Ash's group of friends made their way through a small forest in the hills heading for the lake Ash had described. They had taken a quicker pace when Max thought he had spotted a Pidgey and saw fit to chase after it. They ran into a shrub-covered area with a narrow exit shrouded by a large bush. As the gang ran to the end of it out of nowhere, Cassidy jumped in front of the narrow opening. She placed her left hand on her hip and in her right hand she held a handgun, aimed at the group. Instinctively, the kids turned around and tried to run back the other way, but Butch jumped out and blocked the other path, both hands gripping his pistol as he pointed it at them.

"I'd hold still if I were you" Cassidy warned.

"What…what the hell is going on?" Ash asked shocked. He felt everyone's Auras gripped with fear as they stared at the weapons in the Rocket Grunts' hands.

"You'll find out soon enough" Butch said.

"What are you going to do to us?" Brock asked.

"If no one puts up a struggle then no one gets hurt" Cassidy promised.

"But if anyone screams, fights or tries to run they'll be taking a dirt-nap" Butch added. "Now follow us."

Ash spoke telepathically to Houndour and Pikachu at the same time. He said, "_We can take these guys easily._"

"_Yeah!_" Pikachu agreed.

"_No!_" Houndour objected. "_They have guns._"

"_Guns can't hurt us_" Ash argued.

"_They can't hurt us but it would take just one stray bullet to kill any of the others. If it was just the three of us I would agree with you, but it's too dangerous to try something now._"

"_You're right. So what should we do?_"

"_Let's go with them; find out what they want. If they try something then we fight them._" Ash nodded.

"Come with us" Cassidy ordered.

"What should we do?" Misty whispered.

"We have to follow them" Ash said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, they have guns."

For a while they walked through a pass in the mountains Ash had never been through in complete silence. However, after about ten minutes Misty asked, "Where are you taking us?"

"Keep quiet" Butch said annoyed.

"But…"

"He said shut up!" Cassidy snapped. Misty silenced herself.

For what seemed an endless amount of time they walked along like this in quiet. After a while they came to quarry hidden by a shelf of rock. They stood in front of a large boulder.

"_I can't take this anymore!_" Ash thought to Houndour and Pikachu. "_We can't just stand here and wait for something to happen!_"

Before anyone could respond the boulder broke in half with a mechanical humming sound and opened into the mouth of a large cave. Cassidy and Butch shuffled the children inside.

They came into a dimly lit room that looked as if it had been carved out of the mountain side. It was not unlike the cave that Kamikaze resided in. In an instant, many Team Rocket grunts ran towards the group of hostages, each of them holding semiautomatic rifles. They pointed their weapons at the crowd.

"_Oh great_" Ash thought. "_Now we really can't do anything. We should've taken them down when we had the chance!_"

A man stepped forth from the cluster of Rockets. His more decorated and impressive uniform made him look to be an Admin.

"Good work" the Admin said. "Which one is the prisoner?"

"This one" Butch said, pointing his finger at Ash.

"Excellent. You have done well Agents Cassidy and Botch" the Admin said, forgetting Butch's name.

"It's Butch you stupid piece of sh-" Butch began to yell before Cassidy elbowed him in the ribs. People had always had a habit of forgetting Butch's name, a fact that often annoyed him.

"Take the prisoner to containment cell A-25" the Admin ordered the grunts.

"Yes sir" the guards responded.

"What about the extras sir?" one of them asked.

"Put them in holding cell A-25" he responded. There was a notable difference between containment cells and holding cells in this base.

"Yes sir."

The Admin turned his attention to the children. "We have a device that jams your Pokéballs electronic signatures. You won't be able to release your Pokémon from them so don't try anything. As long as you cooperate, no harm will come to you."

"Take them away" he said then. The Rockets kept their guns on the kids as they escorted them out of the room. Cassidy and Butch went to follow when the Admin stopped them and said, "Wait, I think that a bit of a reward is in order for this accomplishment."

They lead Ash and his friends through a deep, wide hallway into a large room filled with many small cells covered with barred doors. In the back of the room was an unusually giant cell.

They pushed Ash to the front of the group and forced him into a cell which above it had a plaque with "CC A-25" stamped onto it. They then escorted everyone else into the giant cell which above had "HC A-25" labeled.

Ash sat on the floor of his cell. It was completely empty except for a small lamp overhead which bathed it in a dim, purple light. He wondered what he should do. He wondered what his friends in the other cell were doing. Were they scared? Were they going to try to escape? Were they worried about him? Ash then tried to telepathically speak with Houndour and Pikachu. For some reason his mind couldn't touch theirs'. He tried to look out the barred door of his cell and see them but they were too far away. He remained there alone and confused.

He thought if now was the time to try to escape. His friends were safe in their cell for the moment. He had mastered the skill that made guns useless against him. He could try to fight his way out and come back for the others. Or he could break them all out and he could still protect them. The Rockets didn't' know about his power so he had an advantage. After all, he was a Guardian of Aura. Would he let a few thugs with guns scare him into hiding? No he wouldn't!

Ash stood up and took a jujitsu stance, for jujitsu was the name of the art Kamikaze had taught him. He through his right fist forward at the cell door, mustering all his strength, but when he struck the door, the purple light illuminating the chamber glowed brightly. Suddenly, the light formed a shield that Ash's fist bounced off of and the force slammed him into the ground.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" a voice said as the light faded back to normal.

A man stood at the door of Ash's cell. He was relatively short, no taller than five and two thirds feet. He was completely bald and looked to be rather old. His face was covered with healed-over scars that without them it looked as if he could have been rather handsome in his youth. He wore fancy green robes and at his hip was a sword, not a gun. Perhaps his most interesting feature was that one of his eyes was a bright blue while the other was dark brown.

"You'll find your cell impossible to break out of, Ash Ketchum" the man said.

"How do you know my name?" Ash asked immediately.

"Team Rocket has had many affairs with you in the past; at this point they remember your name at least."

"So you're one of them, huh?"

"No. I am merely one making use of their services."

"Then who are you?"

"My name is Nobutada Miyazaki" the man said calmly.

"What do you want from me?" Ash asked impatiently.

"You are not like most people Ash. You are like me; a Wave Guider, a Blossom, a Guardian of Aura."

"W-what?" Ash gasped astonished. "You, you can't be…a Guardian; they're…gone."

"That is what most of the world believes" the man agreed. "However, as long as just one of us exists, we aren't gone."

Ash was in total shock. Here stood another member of the elite race of warriors who he thought he had been the only hope of helping to survive. He was excited; this man could help him and Kamikaze rebuild the Guardians. He then wondered if this man knew Kamikaze.

"Are you the only one left?" Ash asked bewildered.

"No. Since I survived the war I have passed on my knowledge to many others in secret. Two of us there are; two of us who managed to avoid our own extinction and have secretly worked to rebuild our order for the past 64 years; my master and I. We have both trained many of a new generation."

"Oh my God, this whole time I thought…I was the only one left! The only one who could…" Ash stuttered excitedly.

"Yes. Forgive the manner in which we brought you here but we have done so because we would like to invite you to become one of us."

"One of you?"

"Yes."

"I don't know; I just don't know about anyone who trusts Team Rocket."

"Come now, you honestly think that we trust those barbarians? It is a method we have been forced to resort to under this exile we have been under for so long. In our darkest hour we became desperate for survival. You think we approve of those savages? No. Guns are the coward's way to fight, and I would sooner kill myself then charge into battle wielding one. But their help has been invaluable in recruiting new Sprouts. They deserve that much credit."

Ash felt as though he understood. The Guardians of Aura were an amazing race of heroes who used their power to help keep peace. Working with Team Rocket would be worth it to make sure that they didn't perish from the Earth.

"So do you want to join our order?" Nobutada asked.

"It sounds incredible" Ash replied. "Tell me more first."

"We are the new generation of Guardians dedicated to the survival of our culture. When we gain power we will protect the world and bring forth a great new era of peace. We understand the truth that it must be the Guardians of Aura who guide the world on its quest for international peace. That is the truth. We are the Prophets of Truth."

A cold pit formed in Ash's stomach; "The Prophets", the enemies of the True Guardians who tried to take over the world and aided Hitler in World War II. No it couldn't be them; this group was dedicated to world peace. The name could be a coincidence, but Ash had to know for sure.

"Who is your leader?" he asked slowly.

Nobutada sounded proud as he explained, "We are led by the most powerful and wise Guardian of Aura who ever lived, the man who has envisioned a world of peace and prosperity and knows how to create it, my master, Tanaka Yoshiro."

"What?!" Ash shouted. "That's impossible, he's dead!"

"What?" Nobutada, said suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.

"He was killed, in the war, by another Guardian."

"How do you know that?" Nobutada asked. Ash said nothing. Nobutada said, "It is true that once in his life, in his weakest moment, when his army lay in ruins after the filthy Americans had destroyed it with a bomb that a traitor to our order named Kamikaze Tajiri defeated my master in battle and nearly killed him. But my master is far too powerful to be slain. After he was defeated he laid unconscious were he fell, stricken with injuries that would kill anyone else but the power of his unique Aura slowly healed him and eventually he reawakened. Afterwards he found me and we've been rebuilding our army ever since."

"'Army'?" Ash repeated to himself. "What do you need an army for?"

"We are going to finish what we started all those years ago. We are going to restore Japan's honor and earn the Guardians rightful seat as the leaders of the world. Will you join us on our noble quest?"

"No!" Ash shouted. "You're the Prophets; you're evil! I can't join you! I won't!"

"I urge you to reconsider" Nobutada said, growing impatient.

"No! You're murderers! You're the enemies of the True Guardians! You helped the Axis Powers! I won't join you, I won't!"

"The 'True Guardians'!" Nobutada yelled. "Not a fitting name for those traitors at all! They sided with the American scum! They sided with the people who destroyed the samurai! They are the evil ones, not us! Or at least they were."

"You sided with Hitler!" Ash argued. "I'm not the smartest guy in the world but I know enough to know that Hitler was an evil, cruel man who killed millions of innocent people!"

"You honestly think we considered that insane Thorn our leader?! Or even our ally for that matter! No, his goal was not ours. We merely used his war as a way to begin the process of expanding the Guardians and claiming revenge against the Americans. We would have quickly gained control of the world from him after we won the war. If only we had."

"So you were planning to betray him? You can't be trusted! You were planning on betraying the Thorns who were helping you and you're going to do the same thing to Team Rocket!"

"They are Thorns; our word means nothing to them and they are worthless in our eyes! Who cares if we betray them? They don't matter!"

"Yes they do! You're insane and evil and you'll believe anything your master tells you! I will never join you!"

Nobutada did not respond. He closed his eyes for a minute. Ash felt him probing his Aura with his mind. He tried to block him but couldn't.

"You're Aura tells me that you are set in your beliefs. Are you sure that you won't join us?" Nobutada asked.

"I'm sure that I would rather die!"

"Very well, if that is your choice then it shall be so."

"What?"

"You know too much; you're a threat. I shall consult my master first but I am sure he will agree. You shall be executed."

The knot in Ash's stomach twisted. "What about my friends?" he asked.

"The Thorns? Of course we're going to kill them too."

Nobutada walked away. Ash watched him approach the exit of the room and he saw something that surprised him. Four Rocket Grunts came in guiding two people who he knew. One of them was Paul, the other he was really surprised to see, was a short boy with green hair named Drew. He was a Pokémon Coordinator like May and Dawn; in fact, he was one of May's greatest rivals. Ash wondered what he was doing in the Kanto region.

"We found these two punks snooping around outside. They saw us bring the other prisoners in" a Rocket said.

"Put them in the holding cell with the others, I'll deal with them later" Nobutada ordered. The guards shuffled Paul and Drew into the cell.

Ash felt horrified. He was going to die. His friends were going to die and it was his fault. If they weren't with him they wouldn't have been captured. He couldn't escape. He could only wait there for his horrible fate. What should he do? What could he do? How should he spend his final hour?

Out of the corner of his eye Ash spotted something shiny in the corner of his cell. He walked over to it. It was a Time Flower. Maybe the past could offer him comfort. He thought of what he wanted to see and activated it.

The first memory showed a much younger Nobutada at his wedding, him kissing an amazingly beautiful woman. He was much younger than he was now. He had a full head of hair and also, both of his eyes were brown in this vision.

"One of the world's most handsome and powerful warriors; a fine match for my daughter" an old man watching the ceremony said in Japanese.

The next memory showed Nobutada lying on a bed in a small cabin. There were many gashes and cuts on his face and blood flowed from each of them. Both of his eyes were closed. A woman Guardian was tending to them, using her powers to heal him much better than a regular doctor could. "It's a shame" she said to herself. "He used to be so handsome."

"It's all right" Nobutada whispered. "My wife won't care. She's always loved me, she always will."

"The sword gouged out both of your eyes" the nurse told him. "I can save your sight in only one of them but it will require you to sustain the treatment with power from your Aura for the rest of your life. Do you want that?" Guardians of Aura could use their power to see without their eyes, to see the shapes vibrations, and Auras of things, but it is not quite the same as viewing the world through your own eyes.

"Yes. Let me see my wife's beautiful face again" Nobutada said. The nurse's hand glowed with blue energy as she touched his face. His right eye opened and was now a glowing shade of blue.

The memory ended. The next one showed Nobutada witnessing a horrible sight. He walked in on his wife in romantic embrace with another, much more handsome man. The ugly Nobutada with his mismatched eyes, his disfigured face, and his thinning hair was disgusted. He pulled out his sword and slew his disloyal wife and her lover.

In the next memory, Nobutada knelt on the floor of his house holding a dagger in his hands. He pulled it over his neck and was about to cut his throat.

"I understand your pain" a man who came beyond him said. "The Thorns; they are a people without value, without guidance, without honor."

"I loved my wife" Nobutada said, pausing in his suicide. "I don't care that she was a Thorn."

"And she betrayed you" the other man said. "That is what they do. Thorns only care for the beauty of one's body, never considering the beauty of their Aura."

"You're right" Nobutada said. "I thought my wife loved me, but as soon as I became hideous she jumped into another man's arms. Revolting Thorns!" Ash couldn't help but feel sorry for Nobutada.

"You aren't hideous" the other man told him. "You have a magnificent Aura. Come with me and you will realize that."

"The pain won't go away" Nobutada said.

The other man walked over to him and offered him his hand. "I can make the pain go away. Come with me Nobutada and you will know happiness again."

Nobutada took the man's hand and dropped his knife. "Thank you, Tanaka" Nobutada said as he stood up.

Ash was surprised beyond conceivable belief by what he saw in the next memory. He saw Nobutada, only a little younger looking than now, talking to…his father Satoshi, his partner Machop standing next to him. Something odd was that Satoshi was dressed in traditional linens like that that Sir Aaron wore in his portrait. They were somewhere in the mountains. There was a tent behind them and few cans of food lying on the ground.

"You're a Prophet?!" Satoshi yelled surprised, in the memory.

"Yes" Nobutada answered. "Now come on. You should meet my master."

"No!" Satoshi yelled. "I know all about you! I am not coming with you!"

The next memory did not take place long after that. Satoshi was kneeling on the ground defeated and Machop lay dead ten feet away from him, having been killed trying to protect his partner and best friend.

"Kamikaze is your father?! He's still alive!" Nobutada yelled. "Tell me where he is!" he demanded.

"Never!" Satoshi yelled.

The memory after that did not take place not long after that.

"You have a child?!" Nobutada yelled as he forced his telepathic way into Satoshi's mind and stole information from it. "Where is he? Where is your child?!" Nobutada said "he" because Guardians could sense the difference between a male and female Aura straight from conception.

"If I tell you you'll kill him!" Satoshi yelled.

"No I won't" Nobutada said. "I'll give him the chance to join us. If you tell me where he is I will not hurt him or you. But if you don't tell me and I find him I will kill him and his mother!"

"Don't you dare threaten her!" Satoshi yelled.

"Tell me where your father is, tell me where your son is and tell me where his mother is!"

"I would rather die!!" Satoshi yelled.

"Have it your way!" Nobutada shouted cruelly, raising his sword.

In the next memory Nobutada had laid Satoshi's dead body in his tent and had used his sword to cut up the tent as though a wild animal had done it. He then broke open cans of food and discarded them in a manner that an animal wood. Next he pulled out a pair of boots made to resemble an Ursaring's paws and created fake tracks leading to the tent.

In the final memory Ash saw Kamikaze walking alone to the campsite. He stared in horror when he looked at his son in the tent. "My son. Oh, God no!" he cried as he dropped to his knees sobbing.

Ash saw no more memories. He too had dropped on his knees weeping in crushing anxiety. This whole time he believed his father had been a heartless monster but now he had seen that regardless of what he had done before, he had died to protect him, Kamikaze, and his mother. He had cared about them. He had chosen his death rather than to put them in danger. He had done what a real father would have.

Suddenly the door the Ash's cell flung open. Nobutada stood at the entrance, his sword in his hand. "It's time" he said.

Ash's feelings of sadness quickly turned to feelings of anger, hatred and revenge as he looked up at the murderous Nobutada.

"You…" Ash said. "You killed my father!"


	15. Murderer

Guardians of Aura Chapter 15

For a short moment Ash knelt there, staring at his father's destroyer. He felt a great surge of anger and hatred completely dominating the energy of his Aura. He felt a strange wave of power wash over him. The power extended out of his body. His Aura became visible in the form of a flaming blue light surrounding his body. As this fire of power grew, Ash felt himself get stronger. He dashed at Nobutada with such great speed that he felt he was flying. He threw his right fist forward, too fast to avoid, and it slammed into the murderer's face, throwing him ten feet back from the cell door and knocking his sword from his hand. Nobutada landed on his feet.

Ash emerged from his cell and yelled, "You son of a bitch! I'm going to kill you!"

"What are you talking about?" Nobutada asked, disoriented. "I didn't kill your father. I've never even met another person with the last name Ketchum."

"Do you remember Satoshi Tajiri? The Guardian of Aura who died to protect his family from you!"

"Satoshi Tajiri…" Nobutada paused, "…was your father?!"

"Yes. I wasn't born yet and you killed him! Because of you I'll never meet him, I'll never know him, and I'll never talk to him! All that's left of him is memories of him, and I'm not in any of them! I'll kill you if it's the last thing I do!" Ash proclaimed as he walked towards the object of his hatred.

Nobutada, inappropriate as it seemed, was amused. He began laughing hysterically. "That's why I never found you. You took your mother's name because your father never made her his wife. Your last name shielded your identity from me, and all because you're just a bastard. The time I spent searching for you I had spent looking for a bastard; an unwanted mistake. Oh, the irony!"

"Shut up!" Ash yelled.

"And Kamikaze is your grandfather then. Oh, my master will be most pleased when he hears that his most hated enemy fathered a bastard-maker."

"Shut up!" Ash hollered as he ran at Nobutada, fist outstretched and attempted to land another punch. Nobutada jumped back a dozen feet and landed gracefully.

"Murderer!" Ash shouted.

"'Murderer'? Well that's not very flattering, is it?" Nobutada smirked. "But to be fair, I suppose it's true. Fine, I admit it. I killed your father and I would do it a thousand times again!"

"You monster!" Ash jeered.

"I don't see it that way."

"He was protecting the woman he loved, his only son, and his father; how could you be evil enough to kill him?!"

"He was protecting a Thorn, a traitor, and a bastard. Not really a cause worth dying for, but removing a Guardian who exists outside of my master's control is one worth killing for."

Ash yelled with rage as he charged at Nobutada, his Aura still burning in blue fire, and tried to strike again. Nobutada easily blocked his blows but Ash did not relent and continued attacking.

Inside of the holding cell where Ash's friends were being held and saw what was happening, Houndour, who had known Nobutada as an enemy from the war, shouted, "Nobutada killed Satoshi?! That motherf-" The final word was cut off by a crashing sound coming from outside the cell.

Not caring who heard him, Pikachu said, "_Ash needs our help Houndour!_"

"You're right, let's go" Houndour agreed.

"What are you going to do?" Misty asked, worried by the whole situation.

"What do you think we're going to do? We're going to help Ash kill him" Houndour replied impatiently.

"What? You're going to kill him?" Misty asked shocked.

"Of course we're going to kill him what do you…" Houndour than noticed the frightened and confused looks on the children's' faces as they looked at him.

Houndour sighed and explained, "We have to. He's too dangerous."

"Can't you just knock him out and take him to the police, or something?" Dawn asked.

"The police can't help us. He's too strong for that; guns are useless against him. He has to be removed" Houndour said.

"_I don't know Houndour_" Pikachu interjected. "_I've never killed anyone before._"

"Then let me do it. I have the experience it won't be as hard for me" Houndour said.

"But you said you've never killed anyone before" Misty said.

Houndour sighed impatiently as the fight between Ash and Nobutada dragged on outside. He explained, "I had amnesia when I said that. I was the partner of a Guardian of Aura in Word War II; of course I've killed people."

Misty said nothing, but she was unpleasantly surprised.

Another one of the children spoke. It was one who had just been brought in. It was Drew. He said, "Wait a minute, what the hell is going on here?!"

"Drew!" May yelled, covering Max's ears despite the fact that he had already heard the taboo. "My little brother was right there when you said that!"

"I don't have time for this!" Houndour yelled. The black dog faced the cell door and opened his mouth. A sphere of black energy formed in it and shot forward. The Shadow Ball collided with the door and destroyed it.

"Why didn't you do that before?" Brock asked.

"I thought they would shoot at us. But that's the least of our worries now" Houndour answered.

Pikachu charged out the cell door and ran towards the clash between Nobutada and his partner.

"Everyone stay here until it's safe!" Houndour ordered as he turned to follow.

Nobutada had Ash's arm twisted behind him in a lock and had pinned the Pokémon trainer against the stone wall.

"You're doing much better than your father did" Nobutada mocked. "If I was fighting him I would have already cut is head off." Ash told Nobutada to do a certain thing to himself that would be most unpleasant.

Suddenly, a fuse of fire and a stream of lightning struck Nobutada in the back. The burning pain caused him to let go of Ash and veer back away from him.

Houndour stood in a pouncing position and growled with the ferocity of a wolf. "Nobutada" he growled. "You murdering-" He called him something that would be considered much too extreme to say in polite conversation or to repeat at all.

"Houndour it's nice to see you again" Nobutada said sarcastically. "I see you haven't changed much. You never did strike me as a polite one. Especially seeing as I don't think most would consider three-against-one a very fair fight."

"Well he is just a boy, Nobutada" Houndour replied. "It would be unfair for us to expect him to be able to defeat a master by himself."

"Quite" Nobutada said as he threw his hand forward and flung an Aura Sphere at Houndour. Houndour stood still as a green force field surrounded his body and blocked the Aura Sphere from hitting him as it exploded. He had used the move Protect.

"Not good enough" Houndour said as he leapt at Nobutada. His fangs began to glow a burning, bright red as he lunged. He was using Fire Fang attack. As he landed he bit down on Nobutada's right arm. The sharpness of his fangs, the strength of his jaw, and the heat of the fire emitting from his teeth struck Nobutada with terrible pain. The Prophet flailed about wildly, desperately trying to make Houndour let go.

"_Now Pikachu!_" Houndour yelled with his mind.

"_Thunderbolt!_" Pikachu yelled as a jet of electricity shot from the mouse's body. Houndour jumped away from Nobutada as the bolt struck the Prophet and electrocuted him. Nobutada roared in pain.

"Aura Sphere!" Ash yelled as a ball of blue light formed in his hands and he chucked it at his enemy. The sphere crashed into Nobutada and exploded. He fell to the ground exhausted.

Ash walked over to where Nobutada had dropped his sword and picked it up. "Let me do it" he told Houndour and Pikachu.

He trudged over to where Nobutada lay and raised the sword up, preparing to thrust it through the heart of the man who robbed him of his father. "Murderer" Ash said. "Say goodbye!" Ash's arms stayed frozen. He tried with all his might to make his arms thrust the sword down but to no avail.

A voice in his head that came from his own mind told him "_Do it. He deserves it._" His arms shivered as his mind ordered them to commit the act. "_Do it. He killed your father._" He wanted so desperately to obey and to kill this man who he hated more than anyone else, but his arms stayed frozen. "_Do it. Kill him!_"

Nobutada rose to his feet as Ash stayed locked in place. "Too slow" the man said as he punched Ash in the jaw and knocked him back. Ash fell to the ground with a thud. Houndour and Pikachu prepared to attack but Nobutada pulverized them both with an Aura Sphere, slamming them on the ground and disabling them. As Ash stood up Nobutada flew over to him and slammed his other fist into his stomach. Ash gagged as all the air in his lungs was forced out in an abrupt second. He flew back several feet and crashed into the wall in his friends' cell. His friends ducked for cover to avoid being hit.

Nobutada came over to Ash, grabbed him by his neck with one hand, and lifted him above his head. He tightened his hold on Ash's throat, attempting to strangle him to death. "I slew your father and you still don't have the spine to finish me off!" Nobutada snapped maniacally. "You're weak; you don't have what it takes to be a Guardian."

Misty gazed in horror at her friend being choked and pleaded, "Please don't do this."

"You're next" Nobutada said.

The last bit of life was almost squeezed out of Ash when a strong voice commanded, "Put him down!"

Nobutada turned his head. He dropped Ash on the ground, no longer caring about him, when he saw Kamikaze standing a short distance away from him.

"So you've come to rescue your grandson and his little friends I see" Nobutada said as he stepped towards his old enemy.

"Yes, I have" Kamikaze said. He had two swords at his hips. Ash's sword was strapped to his right and his own sword was strapped to the left so it could be drawn by the right hand.

"Well, not to insult your intelligence, but how did you know that they needed saving?"

"Your students slaughtered a contingent of American soldiers not far from here. You think that would escape my notice?"

"Those hotheaded students!" Nobutada cursed to himself. He went on to say, "Well honestly I thought you would be dead by now."

"You have survived. And you were the least likely of us two to do so."

"Yes" Nobutada said, beginning to grow angry. "And you have a lot of nerve coming here! I've lived in exile for 64 years because of you!"

"A punishment I have had an equal share in!" Kamikaze retaliated.

"An equal share?! How dare you compare your misfortunes to mine! You were not punished; you got to have the satisfaction of knowing you won the war! You got to be the hero! You got to go out on the streets without fear of being arrested! You…" Nobutada pointed to Ash, "…got to have a family."

"A family you stole from me!" Kamikaze snapped coldly.

"I see you have been paying attention. I suppose now you will try to avenge your son. You will probably pay no heed to the fact that my master and I are working towards world peace."

"World peace will never exist. There will always be evil to counterbalance good. It can not be fully achieved, especially by a group of evil murderers like you!"

"That frame of mind is exactly why it is the Prophets who shall lead the world into a new age of prosperity, not your extinct order. Though Kamikaze, you must know that my master acknowledges that we made mistakes in the war of how to conduct ourselves. He has repented for his past sins. He is now a forgiving and understanding leader. If you wish to join us and help steer the world on the right course, he shall let you."

"I would rather die than serve that monster!"

"It's funny, that's exactly what your son said to me, before I slit his throat."

Kamikaze struggled to control his rage. "It is odd that you of all people would feel yourself in a position to mock anyone else's family" he said. "For at least I could keep my wife satisfied enough for her to willingly give me a son!"

Nobutada roared in raged as he flew at Kamikaze and picked up his sword and flung it at his neck. Quick as a flash, Kamikaze drew his sword and parried the blow. He blocked the attack in a manner were he made the motion of it continued and veered off to the side so that Nobutada was thrown off balance and his side was exposed to him. A pulse of wave like energy blasted from Kamikaze's palm and sent his opponent flying back. Nobutada crashed into the stone wall with such great force that he created and passed through a hole in the wall that led to another chamber of the cave. Kamikaze followed him through the hole.

Suddenly, a large group of armed Rocket Grunts stormed into the prison chamber. "We've been ordered to execute the prisoners" one of them said. "Open fire!"

The Rockets pulled the triggers on their weapons and a spray of bullets flew at the children. Houndour regained composure and yelled, "Whoa!" as he jumped between the shots and the kids. He created a force field with the move Protect and used the power of his Aura to expand it into a wall of light, shielding all of them. Pikachu had gotten behind the shield as well.

As Houndour stood between the kids and death, there was now time to tend to Ash. Misty, May and Dawn knelt next him while Brock, Max, and Drew stood over him watching. Paul stood in a corner alone.

"Ash," Misty said delicately, "are you okay?"

"I wasn't strong enough" Ash said, mostly to himself.

"Don't talk like that" May said. "You were really brave and strong."

"Now come on killer" Dawn added. "Let's go." They helped him wordlessly get to his feet.

"_I can't keep this up all day!_" Houndour shouted with his mind, seeing as the physical effort of fighting off the bullets was too much for him to open his mouth. "_We have to get out of here!_"

"What about Nobutada?" Ash asked.

"_Kamikaze is way stronger than him; he'll get the job done! We have to get your friends out of here before they're all killed!_"

"Okay" Ash said. "How?"

"_We have to fight our way through all these grunts before anymore Prophets show up!_"

"All right, I could use a punching bag" Ash agreed.

"What?" Misty said. "Ash they have guns; you'll just get yourself killed!"

"No I won't" Ash assured.

"Don't be so arrogant Ash, not when your life is in danger."

"_He's right Misty_" Houndour said. "_This will just take three seconds!_" Houndour then opened up a small hole in the shield. "_Go!_" he ordered.

Ash and Pikachu jumped through the opening and Houndour sealed it. The partners charged over to the mass of assailants and caught their attention. The Rockets tried to shoot them but Ash and Pikachu recalled their training and produced blue shields of light around their bodies that the shells bounced off of.

They reached the crowd and Ash punched the first Rocket he saw in the face, who then fell to the ground unconscious. He then flung his left leg at another man in front of him and struck him in the face with a kick. This man fell too. For a while he continued this pattern of unchallenged striking while he heard Pikachu shouting with energy as he blasted many more with jolts of electricity. In time they found themselves surrounded by Rockets who were out cold.

Houndour lowered the shield and the others ran towards Ash and Pikachu and joined them. Misty gazed at them unbelievingly and stuttered, "How did you…"

Before she could finish, Houndour asserted, "We have to find the exit and get out of here!"

"What about my grandfather?" Ash asked.

"He can take care of himself. But we need to get your friends to safety."

Ash nodded and they ran out of the room. They traveled down a hallway into the chamber of the cave that the battle between Kamikaze and Nobutada had resumed in. The chamber was large and hallow. There were many, long stone bridges connecting doorways that led smaller chambers of the cave. It was the center of that mountain.

They saw the two titans clashing in midair. Guardians had the ability to levitate objects with their minds and could also levitate themselves for varying amounts of time. Because of this they often gave the impression of flying while in battle.

"Nobutada's distracted; now's our chance" Houndour, the veteran Pokémon said as he led the group across the many bridges and rooms as they climbed to the top of the chamber. Many Rockets tried to stop them but were quickly dispatched of by a decisive, yet nonfatal attack from Ash, Pikachu, or Houndour. The reached the top.

The stood before a wall and Houndour said, "Stand back!" He shot another Shadow Ball which blasted a huge hole in the wall. Sunlight poured in through the opening as did the promise of safety.

Suddenly a weak section of rock that Max was standing on collapsed under his weight. The young boy fell onto one of the bridges below the summit.

"Max!" his older sister May yelled. "Are you okay?!"

After a while her younger brother stood up and shouted back, "Yeah."

"I have to go back for him!" May said.

"No! You'll get yourself killed" Houndour protested. "I'll go back for him."

"He's my little brother, I…" May argued.

"I'll keep him safe!" Houndour asserted, looking May in the eye. "I swear on my honor and life, that I will keep him safe."

Houndour stood on the ledge and prepared to jump when he said, "Head out the exit and start running. We'll catch up." He leapt off the ledge and fell down to where Max was.

Meanwhile, Nobutada lunged down towards Kamikaze, blade lifted. Quickly, Kamikaze struck both feet out and kicked Nobutada in the jaw and abdomen at the same time. He blasted a pulse of energy through his feet which pushed Nobutada through the air. The Prophet crashed into the roof of the cave and fell back down onto one of the bridges. Kamikaze landed in front of him.

"It's a shame I couldn't do this before you destroyed my son" Kamikaze said as he raised his katana in the air.

Nobutada twitched as he shot a bright burst of energy from his Aura that crashed into the roof. Instants later many stalactites and chunks of rock fell from the roof and smashed into the bridges and floor. Nobutada used this distraction and jumped into the air, leaping along the many rocks to escape. Kamikaze pursued him, but the murderer disappeared from his sight. He turned back to find the others.

"Oh, this is not good" Houndour said after he reached Max and as he observed the cave-in. "Get on my back!" he ordered.

"But you're a Houndour; there's no way that…" Max began to argue.

"I'm stronger than an ordinary Houndour, just get on my back!"

Max climbed onto the fire dog's back. Houndour leapt into the air and jumped from rock to falling rock as he advanced back to the exit. He proceeded with amazing speed and accuracy. He came to the top.

Nobutada scowled at him from his hiding place and raised his hand. "Goodbye" he said as he shot a blast from his hand.

The blast collided with Max and Houndour's backs. They flew forward and slid across the cave floor to the exit of the cave. Houndour stood up a few moments after they crashed. "Oh, my head" he said. Max lay injured next to him and not moving.

"Max?" Houndour said. "Little buddy? Oh, this is really not good."

All the while, Ash and the others had arrived in a stone hidden clearing on the grass-covered surface of the mountain, where they stopped to catch their breath. Kamikaze arrived there. "Is everybody okay?" he asked.

"We are" Ash said.

"Where is Houndour?"

"He went back to get my brother" May answered. "We aren't sure where he is."

"I'm right here" Houndour said as he turned up, Max lying across his back.

"Max!" May yelled as she ran over to see her brother. "Is he…alive?"

"Yes" Houndour said. "Kamikaze, you'd better look at him." Houndour laid Max down gently on the ground with help from May.

For a while Kamikaze examined Max. Eventually he said, "He'll live. But it will be a while before he wakes."

"Thank God" May said as she placed a hand over her chest to calm her rapidly beating heart.

Ash walked over to Kamikaze and asked him privately, "Did you kill Nobutada?"

"No" his grandfather said. "He ran away."

"No!" Ash yelled as he dropped to his knees. When Kamikaze left him to examine the others, Ash proclaimed to himself, "I'm going to avenge you father, if it's the last thing I do!"


	16. A Plot to Conquer the World

Guardians of Aura Chapter 16

May sat at the edge of the lake that Ash and Kamikaze had brought the group to after they had escape the Team Rocket base. She was cradling her brother's unconscious body in her arms as he rested. They had hidden out in the concealed lakefront the night before to avoid being recaptured. They weren't sure what they were going to do next.

As May watched over him, Max began to toss and turn. Slowly his eyes opened. He moaned softly.

"Oh Max" May said. "I was so worried about you. How do you feel?"

"Tired" he said lazily. Suddenly he stopped breathing in a way that seemed voluntary. He coughed lightly and resumed breathing weakly.

"Max, are you all right?" May asked concerned.

Max groaned quietly, "So tired…barely any energy…"

May gasped in fright. Was this reason to be worried? Was something wrong with Max? Or did he maybe just need more sleep? She had to know. What was that old man's name who had helped them yesterday? Oh yes, Kamikaze.

"Kamikaze!" May called. A moment later, Ash's grandfather appeared next to May and Max.

"Yes?" the Guardian said.

"I think something is wrong with Max" May explained worriedly.

Kamikaze knelt down beside her. He closed his eyes and placed his palm on Max's head. He said nothing as he used the power of his Aura as a medical probe. After a while he pulled his hand back.

"This is not good" he said solemnly.

"What's wrong?" May asked.

"His Aura is injured."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"When Nobutada struck him, the blast was meant to slay him, though Houndour was probably his target, by injuring his Aura to the point where it could not stay connected to his body and would retreat to the world where it can survive without a body."

"Do…" May started, "…do you mean Heaven?"

"That is what many people call it. It is the world parallel to ours. The Aura's of the deceased are the bridge connecting the two worlds."

"W…what?!" May struggled for breath. "D…do you mean he's…_dying_?"

Kamikaze nodded somberly.

Tears began to well in May's eyes and she was at a loss for words and breath. "Max can't die! Can't you heal him or something?"

"This injury is beyond my ability to mend" Kamikaze replied guiltily. "If I had known earlier that this was an injury of the Aura and not the body then I may have been able to do something. I am so sorry."

"But you're a Guardian of Aura! Can't you heal him or revive him?!" May began weeping.

"Even the power of a Guardian is limited. To revive the dead is impossible and I am not strong enough to heal him."

"Max!" May yelled as she looked into her brother's eyes, out of which the light was fading. She couldn't believe that her little brother, whom had joined her on her Pokémon journey, had always been by her side, and had taught her so much about Pokémon and responsibility, was leaving her.

"Time is short" Kamikaze warned. "If you have any last words that you wish him to hear say them now."

"Max!" May said. "You're the best brother in the world that anyone could ask for! I love you so much!"

"I love you too May" Max said with his last ounce of strength.

A dozen feet away, Ash was watching under the cover of a tree. He saw the silhouette of Max's head sinking limply and heard May begin howling and crying in despair. Kamikaze reverently bowed his head.

"No" Ash mumbled. "He's just a kid, no!"

He turned to the tree he was standing by. "No!" He slammed his left fist into the tree. The tree crunched under his fist as much of its bark broke. He threw his other fist forward and it the tree fell to the ground when it crashed into it. A strange feeling occurred to him. Before, he had felt the tree's Aura and now that he had toppled it he felt its life force fade from the world and the feelings of emptiness and horror he felt were now intensified.

"Ash!" the voice of Misty yelled as she came up behind him. "What is the matter with you?"

Ash tried to speak but his anger overwhelmed him and he punched another tree that hurtled to the ground limply. Again he felt the Aura of the tree die away and felt more horrible emotions.

"What's wrong Ash?!" Misty asked insistently.

"Max is…" Ash replied hesitantly, "…gone."

"W…what?" Misty gasped.

"He died."

"Oh my God" Misty whispered horrified. "May must be devastated."

"It's all my fault!" Ash yelled as he dropped to his knees and slammed his fists into the ground. A huge indentation was stamped into the ground as his mighty hands crashed into it.

"What are you talking about Ash?" Misty asked him.

"If I had killed Nobutada when I had the chance Max would still be alive!"

"Ash you don't know that for sure."

"Yes I do. Houndour said he felt his Aura striking them. Nobutada killed Max, like he killed my father, his own wife, and God knows who else!"

"It's still not your fault" Misty comforted. "You didn't kill Max."

"But I should've killed Nobutada! If I did, none of this would be happening."

"Ash, you're 15 years old for Heaven's sake; you shouldn't expect yourself to be able to actually…kill someone" Misty reasoned.

"You don't understand Misty! I'm a Guardian of Aura! I'm supposed to fight for peace and honor, but I was too weak to do what I needed to!" Ash yelled in anguish.

"You aren't weak because your conscience won't let you commit murder Ash."

"It's not murder, it's justice" Ash insisted.

"It seems a little more like revenge to me" Misty judged.

Ash scowled. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked sensitively.

"I know you Ash. If he didn't kill your father you wouldn't even be thinking of killing him" Misty scolded.

"Excuse me if it makes me mad that it's because of him that I've gone my entire life without knowing my father!"

"Ash I understand how you feel but…" Misty started.

"Don't pretend you understand how I feel! You can't understand how horrible this feels!" Ash insisted.

Misty felt offended. "I can't? How dare you? I've never met either one of my parents. Don't act like you're the only person in the world with problems. At least you had a mother. If anything, I've gone through worse experiences than you."

"'Worse experiences'!" Ash repeated. "I watched my father being killed, faced the man who did it, and missed my chance to avenge him. I looked into the eyes of the man who murdered my father! Have you ever gone through that?!"

Misty paused. "…Well…no…"

"Then don't pretend you know how terrible I feel. And Nobutada is responsible for that; why shouldn't I kill him?"

"You're right, I don't know how you feel. But killing is still wrong."

"It's wrong? That didn't matter to him."

"You want to be like Nobutada?"

Ash scoffed, "You don't get it. Sometimes you have to kill people; that's life."

"You don't have to kill Nobutada, you want to."

"He killed my father."

"That doesn't make it right."

"Guys" the voice of Houndour cut in. "Settle this later. A boy has lost his life on these grounds. This is no place to argue."

"I'll stop if she does" Ash snapped immaturely.

"You jerk!" Misty retaliated.

"Nock it off!" Houndour ordered. "We have to bury Max."

"Bury him? Here?" Ash asked.

"It's too dangerous to take him back into town. The Prophets could be right on our trail."

An hour later they stood at a mound of dirt at the edge of the lakefront. At the end of the makeshift tomb stood a cross that had the words "Max, 2000-2009. The best brother anyone could ever ask for" carved on it. May knelt in front of the crave crying. The others stood there as well, paying homage, everyone except Paul that was, who was standing alone about eight feet away.

"_What are we going to do now?_" Pikachu asked hopelessly.

For a while no one said anything but Houndour's resolve grew from within him and he proclaimed, "I'll tell you what we're going to do. We're going to stop them from ever doing this to anyone again. We're going to defeat Tanaka and we're going to destroy the Prophets…again."

"How?" Ash asked. "There are only four of us, and who knows how many of them there are."

"There are thousands" Kamikaze said gravely.

"How do you know?" Houndour asked.

"When I infiltrated the base, I had learned much about what they were doing and how they were doing it. I was there for hours before I discovered your imprisonment. I stole some of their plans." Kamikaze reached into his sleeves and pulled out many schematics, blueprints, and maps. He addressed one in particular. Houndour began deciphering it.

"Here's Japan" he said as he pointed to a diagram labeled "Launching Point".

"To be more specific, Mt. Moon. Let's see these red lines go across the Pacific to…America?" Indeed a path was printed on the map from Mt. Moon in the Kanto region of Japan to San Diego, California in the United States of America. "What does it mean?"

"Do any of you know who Hunter J is?" Kamikaze asked.

"She's a Pokémon thief for hire" Ash said resentfully.

"As well as Team Rocket, the Prophets have recruited her help. As you may know she travels by the use of unique flying machines, I guess their closest equivalent would be hovering jets. Tanaka is going to use those to transport his army."

"So you mean…" Houndour said horrified, "…they're going to take their revenge on America?" Kamikaze nodded.

"What does that mean?" Dawn asked, being the first of the others to speak.

"They're going to destroy America" Houndour said gravely. "This is horrible. Millions of innocent people will be killed."

"Why would they want to destroy America?" Brock asked, now adding himself in the conversation.

"In World War II, the Americans helped the Guardians of Aura defeat the people who killed Max" Houndour answered.

"That was over 60 years ago" Brock replied. "Most of the Americans who did that are dead or incredibly old now."

"It makes no difference to Tanaka" Kamikaze said. "He will spare no expense to claim his revenge. But that is not his only plan." He lifted up a list from the pile of data and put it in front of Houndour.

Kamikaze continued, "He plans to completely destroy America and to kill all of the Americans but afterwards he plans to conquer the rest of the world's countries. These are his first targets."

Houndour read aloud from the list, "India? North Korea? Pakistan? Canada? Why would he attack these countries first?"

"They have nuclear weapons" Kamikaze answered.

"Why does that matter?" Dawn asked.

"The Americans defeated Tanaka's army by using the Atomic Bomb. Nuclear weapons are the only ones powerful enough to stop him. He knows that. So he will conquer the only nations who can defeat him" Kamikaze replied.

"So he's going to destroy America and take over the rest of the world for the Prophets?" Houndour asked. Kamikaze nodded.

"That's awful!" Houndour shouted. "The world will be thrown into chaos in the resulting violence! Millions, maybe billions of innocent people will be killed! All of it will happen just so Tanaka can prove that he is worthy of being a Guardian!"

"That's what this is about?!" Ash asked.

"That is what it has always been about with him" Kamikaze said.

"We have to stop him!" Houndour declared.

"_How?_" Pikachu asked.

"There are four of us against that entire army" Kamikaze stated.

"Well we can't do nothing" Ash argued.

"No we can't." A gleam then appeared in Kamikaze's eye. He said, "Sir Aaron once faced nearly exactly the same odds. In his desperation he turned to the Tree of Beginning for assistance."

Houndour smiled widely. "That's right! The Tree of Beginning, of course, it's so obvious! It never judged Tanaka worthy of having the Gift so I don't think it would agree with what he's doing. We can ask for its help" he said.

"We shall have to hike there, hiding in the mountains" Kamikaze said.

"Why?" Ash said. "Can't we go back and find someone to drive us there or something?"

"No. Tanaka knows about us. He will probably figure out our plan. If we return to the town we risk putting everyone there in danger."

"What about us?" Dawn asked.

"You will all have to come with us" Kamikaze informed. "You have seen too much and Tanaka will wish to exterminate you as well. You will be safest if you stay close to us."

"Can't we just call the police or something?"

"They cannot help. Guns have no effect on the Prophets and most of the Pokémon that they have probably are not strong enough to defeat one of them. Only a Guardian of Aura is strong enough to destroy or even subdue another one."

Paul had walked a little closer to the group but then turned around and mumbled, "I'm out of here" as he walked away.

Houndour had heard him with his keen ears and yelled, "Keep going, you'll be as good as dead by tomorrow!"

Paul stopped and turned around. "I don't need anyone to protect me. My Pokémon are much stronger than you can imagine" he said coldly.

"It doesn't matter how strong you think they are" Houndour replied. "When thousands of people with access to superhuman abilities want you dead, it's going to happen soon enough."

"Why would they want to kill me?" Paul asked.

"You've seen too many of their secrets. It's your choice; you can come with us or die."

"Let him go Houndour" Ash recommended. "We're better off without him."

"His life is just as important as ours' Ash" Kamikaze scolded.

"Fine" Paul decided. "I'll stay, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Agreed" Houndour replied. "Anyone else have any questions or objections?"

Drew had remained silent the entire time but he finally spoke. "How long will this take?"

"If everything goes smoothly it should take less than a week" Houndour answered.

"Let's not waste any time then" Kamikaze stated. "We should get going immediately." He then turned his gaze toward May who was still sitting at her brother's grave in mourning. "We'll leave in an hour" Kamikaze then decided sympathetically.

"Let's give her some space" Houndour said. He and Kamikaze then shuffled the others away from the grave. May was left alone with her brother.

An hour later Ash walked up to May. "It's time to go May" he said cautiously.

She said nothing but stood up and nodded. Ash placed his hand on her shoulder. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked.

"I'll be fine" she said. Though how decrepit her voiced sounded told another story.

"Don't worry May" Ash said. "I'm going to make the man who did this pay. I'm going to avenge Max."

"Ash" May sighed. "I don't think Max would want that." She walked away. Ash stared after her, incredibly confused.


	17. How They Became Five

Guardians of Aura Chapter 17

Ash sat alone in front of a campfire. He was holding his sword and sliding a rock down the blade to sharpen it. It was his shift to stay awake and guard against intruders. He, Kamikaze, Houndour, and Pikachu were all taking turns at this. The others where allowed to sleep, seeing as they could not be of much help if they were to be attacked by Prophets.

Ash was thinking hard about what May said. Why would she not want him to kill the man who took her brother away from her? It didn't make sense. Wasn't she angry at Nobutada? Didn't Max's death upset her at all? It had to; she had cried for hours after it had happened and she had barely said a word to anyone since. Then why wouldn't she want revenge? Did she not care about Max as much as Ash cared about his father? No, that wouldn't make sense; Ash had never met his father, how could that be possible? Then how was it that May was able to brush it off so easily?

Ash's ears picked up a subtle noise, a sort of rustling sound. Suddenly a man walked out of the bushes and into the light of the fire. He had a wide grin on his face and he sat down in front of the campfire as though he and Ash were old friends. When he sat down Ash could see his face clearly. His skin was a very dark shade of brown and he had two teeth missing. His eyes were dark blue.

The man said something that Ash didn't understand. He then said something else. Ash then realized that the man was speaking some foreign language.

"I can't understand you" Ash said.

The man began laughing and Ash heard a psychic voice inside his head saying, "_That's because you're listening with your ears._"

Ash dropped the rock he was holding, stood up, and pointed his sword at the man. "_Who are you?_" Ash said telepathically. As Kamikaze had said before, there are no language barriers for telepathic thoughts.

"_No one of consequence_" he replied.

"_Tell me_" Ash demanded.

"_I don't see why it matters. I've been sent to kill you anyway_" the man said casually.

"_So you're one of them_" Ash said as he lifted his sword and prepared to strike.

"_I don't feel like fighting right this moment. Could we talk for a few more moments_? _You must have questions_" the man said calmly.

Ash didn't trust the man but was also tired and didn't want to fight just yet. "_Where is your partner?_" he asked.

"_Partner? I have none; I prefer working alone_" the man said as though he knew nothing of what Ash said.

"_What language do you speak?_"

"_I speak many."_

Ash looked more closely at the man. "_I've noticed that you aren't Japanese_" he said.

"_No I'm not._"

"_Then why are you fighting with Tanaka?_"

"_The Americans destroyed my home as well._"

"_That doesn't make destroying their home right._" As he said this Ash suddenly remembered Misty telling him that killing Nobutada wouldn't be justified by the sin he had committed.

"_Perhaps not, but the Tree has given me these amazing powers. I owe that to Tanaka. In my experience he is always right._"

"_The Tree gave you your powers?_"

"_Of course._"

"_It didn't give your master his._"

The man seemed genuinely surprised by this. "_What are you talking about?_"

"_So he didn't tell you._"

The man then stood up. "_Well this chat has been rather nice but I do have a duty to perform._" He pulled a katana out from a sheath that was strapped to his shoulder. "_You seem like a good man. I hate to have to kill you._"

"_Then don't_" Ash said as he took a fighting stance.

"_I would hate the consequences of doing that far worse_" the man replied.

Suddenly two more men emerged from behind the bushes, each holding a sword in their hands. One of them was Japanese and the other seemed to be white.

Then a young woman came behind Ash wielding her own sword. She looked to be in her early 20's. She was very tall and appeared to be Japanese. "So this is him?" she said. "He doesn't seem like much."

The white man said something in a language Ash had never heard.

"You'll have to excuse my friend" the man next to him said in Japanese, a language Ash spoke. His dialect seemed to suggest that he couldn't speak English. "He hates speaking with telepathy" the Japanese man added.

"This isn't a very fair fight" Ash said in English out of habit.

"There are four of us and four of you. That's a fair fight" the woman said, being the only one who spoke English. "Now where are the others?"

Ash felt the odd desire to fight all four of these Prophets by himself. His failure to slay Nobutada had left him feeling emasculated and shamed. "I'm not good enough for you guys?" he asked.

"Well we were told we would get to fight one of the most famous Guardians of Aura who ever lived and his grandson. Obviously, the former attracted us to this mission more, no personal offense meant though."

"None taken."

"Now" the woman started. "We may meet as enemies but there is no reason we cannot be civilized and partake in the niceties of our common culture." She bowed respectfully. "I am Yumi Sugimori, daughter of Takeshi Sugimori" she said ceremoniously.

Ash was slightly thrown off by her courtesy and decided that he didn't want to be rude. He bowed and said, "I am Ash Ketchum, son of Satoshi Tajiri."

Out of nowhere Kamikaze's voice came in, "I am Kamikaze Tajiri, son of Morihei Tajiri." He walked next to Ash, bowed to Yumi, and unsheathed his sword. Yumi bowed to him.

"Who are your friends?" Kamikaze asked her.

"As they told your grandson" Yumi began, "they are no people of consequence."

The man Ash had talked to nodded goofily.

"It is an honor to meet such a glorious Guardian of Aura as you, Kamikaze Tajiri" Yumi said honestly.

"You are a polite, charming lady" Kamikaze complimented. "It is a great shame that we meet as enemies."

"Yes" Yumi agreed. "I shall attempt to make your deaths quick and painless."

"You can try your best" Houndour's voice said as he and Pikachu ran in and joined Ash and Kamikaze.

"I am Houndour, son of another Houndour" Houndour greeted sarcastically.

Now the numbers were even. They squared off. Ash faced the man he had talked to, Kamikaze faced the Japanese man, Houndour faced the white man, and Pikachu faced Yumi.

"_Please don't do this_" Pikachu requested. "_I don't want to hurt you._"

"Talking Pokémon" Yumi marveled.

"There have always been talking Pokémon fighting by the Guardians' side" Kamikaze said.

"There have?" Yumi asked.

"Tanaka does not have his students have partners? That disgrace" Kamikaze cursed. The Prophets seemed agitated. They knew they would strike soon.

"Please forgive us for doing that which our duty commands us to" Yumi pleaded.

"I forgive you" Kamikaze answered.

"_Forgive them_?" Ash though to himself, confused. "_They're trying to kill us!_"

"Please forgive us for doing what we must to survive" Kamikaze beseeched.

"I forgive you."

Kamikaze and Yumi bowed.

"_Kill them_" Yumi said telepathically to the other Prophets.

The Prophets lunged at the True Guardians. The man facing Ash brought his sword down, only for Ash to parry it with his own. The white man swung his blade at Houndour who jumped out of its way. The man facing Kamikaze drove his blade forward but the old man swerved away from the attack. Yumi threw an Aura Sphere at Pikachu who blocked it with a Thunderbolt attack.

Ash became locked in battle with the man in front of him. For a while his ears were filled with the continuous ringing of their swords clashing and bouncing off each other. Suddenly, one of his blocks failed and his sword was knocked out of his hand. The man arrogantly raised his sword above his head and prepared a downward strike. Ash used this opening and tossed his hand forward. His palm was filled with energy from his Aura as he yelled, "Force Palm!" Force Palm was another Pokémon move that Guardians of Aura could use.

His Force Palm attack collided with the man's chest and the pulses of energy threw him back a dozen feet and his sword was knocked from his hand. Suddenly, he looked over to the edge of the fire. Misty stood about ten feet from the fire, gazing in awe at the fight.

The man smiled murderously. He stood up, grabbed his sword, and jumped over the campfire and landed in front of Misty.

"No!" Ash yelled as he grabbed his sword and ran over to the scene.

"_You must be one of the pathetic little Thorns who saw too much at our base_" the man said as he walked closer to Misty. Misty walked backward, not sure what to do.

"_Are you scared of me?_" he asked.

Misty didn't want to be bullied and shook her head. She walked back into the area where the others were sleeping. The others had woken up when they had heard the noise of what was happening.

"_You should be scared, I'm going to kill you_" he said.

She backed up by a wall of rock that had hidden the campsite.

"_Aren't you going to call out your Pokémon so they can try feebly to save you?_"

Misty reached across her shoulder instinctively. Her backpack wasn't there. She had left it when she went to investigate the sounds of the battle. Her Pokémon weren't with her.

Out of the blue, a wave of glowing, purple, poisonous barbs shot at the Prophet. He held out his palm and produced a shield of Aura to block it. When the needle-like barbs bounced off the guard he turned his head to see Brock standing with his Croagunk, who had fired the attack. The Prophet threw an Aura Sphere that struck Croagunk and sent it to the ground in one shot. The toxic frog Pokémon let out a croak of pain as it was stricken.

Misty tried to run for her backpack then. Quick as a flash the man grabbed her arm and said, "_Please hold still._" With his free hand he punched Misty's stomach. With his superhuman strength he punched so hard that all of Misty's breath shot out of her lungs and she dropped to the ground in agony. She wrapped her arms around her hurting stomach and coughed in pain.

The man raised his sword in the air, preparing to stab Misty in the back.

Meanwhile, Ash had been distracted when the man Houndour was fighting had attacked him as well. He saw what was happening with Misty and ran over to assist, paying no mind to the other man. The white man threw an Aura Sphere that crashed into the back of Ash's head before Houndour recaptured his attention.

Ash fell to the ground barely conscious. His head throbbed and his senses dulled. He knew he would pass out. But he couldn't now, not while there was still danger. He drunkenly ran over to the man who was attacking Misty, swaying back in forth as he lost his ability to focus.

He saw the man raise his sword in the air. Ash became determined. He had let Max die, he wouldn't let the same happen to Misty. He ran faster. The man prepared to lower his sword. Ash raised his sword and ran faster. He would do what was needed now. He would be strong now. The man began to stab. Ash plunged his blade forward with his remaining strength. It struck the man in the back. The man roared in pain as he and Ash fell to the ground.

Ash woke up dizzily the next mourning. The sun was shining brightly. He was alone. He looked around. He saw Kamikaze standing alone in front of something. He walked over to him, too tired to think.

He then saw what Kamikaze was standing by. There were three identical crucifixes, like the one at Max's grave, standing over three huge mounds of dirt. "A worthy adversary" was carved on all of the tombstones.

Kamikaze prayed, "Dear Lord, please forgive us for taking the lives of these men."

Ash's heart stopped. He…he had killed that man? That couldn't be, he was just fighting him a minute ago, he couldn't be dead yet. But no, now it was morning and that was at night. But he couldn't kill anyone; he couldn't even kill Nobutada. He had to know.

He walked up to the graves. He stared into the eyes of his grandfather. "I…took his life?" he asked slowly. Kamikaze nodded.

Ash dropped to his knees. He wasn't trying to kill that man; he just wanted Misty to be safe. He had talked with that man; he didn't seem like a bad man. His home had been destroyed and he was upset. Ash had felt like he understood him. His troubles were like his. He didn't hate him, he didn't want to fight him, and he didn't want to hurt him. Not only that, but that man said he didn't want to hurt him. But he killed him.

Ash's heart sank. He began crying. He felt as though he could throw up. He now remembered the sensation of feeling the man's Aura fading away from the world. It was the most horrible thing imaginable. He now understood what Misty had meant. He had done murder, the most horrible of crimes.

"Misty told me you saved her life" Kamikaze said.

Ash finally regained enough composure to speak. He whispered, "But at what price?"

Kamikaze said respectfully, "It is the warrior's burden. The chaotic path we must walk. The first life taken is unforgettable."

He knelt down next to Ash and said, "Remember my grandson, this act may be unforgettable, but not unforgivable. You did what you had to in order to keep your friends safe."

Ash grabbed his grandfather and they embraced. Kamikaze held Ash and comforted him. "This guilt is unbearable" Ash said. He wished he had apologized in advance the way that Kamikaze had before the fight.

"I know" Kamikaze replied. "Take deep breaths, it will help you relax."

Ash inhaled and exhaled deeply. It brought a little relief.

Ash pulled away from his grandfather and asked, "Who killed the other two?"

"I killed the other Japanese man and Houndour killed the white man" Kamikaze informed.

"What happened to Yumi?" Ash asked. He wanted to keep to conversation going. He wanted to be distracted from the knowledge that he had killed.

"Pikachu defeated her."

"Is she dead?"

"No. We should go figure out what to do with her, come on."

Kamikaze stood up. Ash stared at the graves.

"Ash, we must go." Ash stood up. His chest still heaved. They walked away.

They walked over to where the campfire was. Yumi lay unconscious on a makeshift bed of leaves. Everyone was gathered around her.

Now that is light it was easier to see what she looked like. Like the other Prophets she wore Japanese samurai robes. Her robes were purple. She had brown hair and was fairly thin.

"That's one beautiful lady" Brock said. He had always had a healthy ability to become easily attracted to pretty girls.

"Beautiful or not she tried to kill us last night" Houndour reminded.

"Still," Brock replied, "a lady that beautiful can't be all bad."

"You're so shallow Brock" Dawn scoffed.

"_What are we going to do with her Houndour?_" Pikachu asked.

"The easiest thing to do would be to kill her right now" Houndour suggested.

"_What?!_" Pikachu asked, shocked.

"You can't kill a woman Houndour!" Brock protested.

"That's a little sexist Brock" Dawn inserted.

"Yes" Houndour agreed. "The samurai and Guardians would consider her a warrior and a threat the same as any man, why shouldn't we?"

"Nevertheless Houndour," Kamikaze interrupted, "we cannot kill someone who is defenseless; there is no honor in it."

"Well if someone had killed her last night we wouldn't be having this discussion!" Houndour jeered.

"_I…I couldn't_" Pikachu stuttered. "_I'm sorry._"

"Being sorry isn't going to help now" Houndour scoffed.

"Do not treat your own student with such antipathy Houndour" Kamikaze advised.

Suddenly, Yumi began to toss and turn. Her eyes opened. She lay unmoving on the bed.

"What happened?" she asked.

"You have been defeated" Houndour said. "You're our prisoner."

Yumi quickly sat up. Abruptly she grabbed her right arm and groaned in pain.

"_I think I broke your arm_" Pikachu said, guilt ridden.

"Why am I still alive?" she asked.

"We were wondering the same thing" Houndour mumbled.

"You were the only one of your party who survived the attack last night" Kamikaze told her.

She gasped in horror. She turned to Kamikaze and bowed. "Please sir" she implored. "You surely must know. A samurai cannot stand the shame of defeat. Please allow me to end my life."

"That's an easy solution" Houndour said.

"No!" Brock yelled. He knelt down and placed his hands on Yumi's shoulders, taking the overdramatic approach to women he always did. "You can't kill yourself! You can't let a pretty face like yours go to waste."

"Pretty face?" Yumi said, touching her own face.

"You see, Yumi" Kamikaze began. "We really don't want to kill you but we can't have you going back to your master and coming back with reinforcements."

"You _don't_ want to kill me?" Yumi asked, puzzled.

"Of course we don't. A real Guardian of Aura laments the task of taking lives. Killing is always a last resort."

"My master says that those who are too weak to prevent death from taking them deserve to die."

"That is what he believes."

Yumi stared in wonder at Kamikaze. "I tried to kill you, your grandson, and your friends, I fight on the side of your worst enemy, and you still have the compassion to spare me?" Kamikaze nodded.

Yumi bowed incredibly low. "Truly, you are a much kinder and nobler man than the one I serve. I see now why your order is called the 'True Guardians'. I do not deserve to stand in your presence. I tried to kill you, with a smile on my face. I beg you to forgive me." She was being sincere.

"You are forgiven" Kamikaze said.

"I beg of you" Yumi said. "If you choose not to end my life, I implore; allow me to come with you. Please, be my master instead of Tanaka."

"I am intrigued" Kamikaze said. "But you lack of loyalty is worrying."

"I have stood by and watched Tanaka's men do horrible things" Yumi explained. "And I did nothing because I was always told that it was right. My Aura told me otherwise and yet I did nothing. Now I see you, a kind, noble Guardian saying that what my heart tells me is right is actually right. Please be my master."

"Well, you may have noticed that I already have an apprentice Yumi" Kamikaze replied.

Ash thought quickly. If Kamikaze didn't become Yumi's master she may end her own life in shame of defeat, as was common with samurai tradition. He was tired of death and fighting and killing. He didn't want Yumi to die too.

"It's all right" Ash told Kamikaze.

"Is that so?" Kamikaze asked. "Very well Yumi, I agree."

Yumi lifted her head and smiled.

"Do you renounce Tanaka as your master?" Kamikaze asked.

"Yes!" Yumi agreed, nodding her head vigorously.

"Do you agree to obey my teachings and listen to me?"

"Yes!"

"Do you agree to live as a True Guardian of Aura?"

"Yes!"

"Will you do everything in your power to save the millions of people Tanaka plans to kill?"

"Yes!"

"Then I am your master!"

"Thank you!" Yumi declared happily as she bowed very lowly.

"Now let's get that arm bandaged up" Brock said. Kamikaze nodded. Misty, May, Houndour, and Ash broke away from the group.

Misty walked over to Houndour and whispered, "How does he know we can trust her?"

Houndour calmly answered, "She was telling the truth."

"How do you know?"

"Guardians can conceal their emotions but they cannot fake them. She meant everything she said."

"But do we really need anymore mouths to feed?"

"I trust my partner. I'm with Kamikaze on this. Besides, she's a Guardian; she can help us fight."

"Misty" Ash cut in. He walked over to her. His presence was extremely humbled from what he normally was like. "You were right."

"About what?" Misty asked confused.

"Killing _is _wrong. You can't imagine how horrible it feels to actually…" He paused. He turned to May.

"You were both right. I don't want to kill Nobutada anymore. I don't care what happens to him. I don't ever want to kill anyone again. I want all of this death and fighting to end."

**Authors Request: Please review. This story hasn't gotten as many reviews as before lately. **


	18. The Only Thing Worth Killing For

Guardians of Aura Chapter 18

The night after the attack Drew stood by himself away from the camp, thinking. This entire situation had him unbelievingly confused. He barely had any fathom of what was going on. Why did he get dragged into this? He didn't have anything to do with it. He wished he could leave, but after the Prophets had struck the night before, he became sure that he would die without the True Guardians' protection. This situation was so awkward he hadn't even felt comfortable to talk with any of the others. Though he wouldn't have normally anyway; May was the only of them he was well-acquainted with, and in rivalry as fellow Pokémon coordinators, not friendship.

"Hello" a voice said. Drew looked down. Houndour was there, looking up at him.

"Uh…hi" Drew responded uneasily.

"Nice night tonight, huh?" Houndour said in a friendly way. He looked towards the moon which was full and glowing.

"Uh…yeah."

"Well you're just full of words tonight, aren't you?"

"Is there…something that you want?"

"A nice conversation, that's all" Houndour shrugged. "After all, Ash hasn't been in the mood to talk all day and you haven't exactly been the social Butterfree of the group."

"Yeah" Drew nodded, still blown away by everything that had happened. "What happened to him anyway?"

"For the first time in his life Ash had to kill someone to survive" Houndour said gauntly.

"Oh" Drew replied shocked and not knowing what to say. "Who were those people who tried to kill us?"

"The Prophets; Tanaka's servants."

"What?" Drew asked. "I have no idea what that means. I have no clue what has been going on for the past three days."

"Oh right" Houndour replied. "We wanted to keep all of this secret but I don't think there's any chance of that now."

For a while Houndour explained to Drew the situation. He did his best to not reveal guarded secrets to him and only informed him of enough to bring him up to speed.

"You understand now?" Houndour asked.

Drew replied impatiently, "I guess so but none of this makes any damn sense."

Houndour nodded. The canine then added, "You'd better not let Misty or May hear you talking like that. They'd really go off on you." Houndour's ears then picked up a subtle noise. He listened more closely. It was May's voice. She was crying again, grieving over the loss of her one and only brother.

"Though I don't think May is really in the mood to talk either" Houndour sighed.

"I know" Drew replied. "I've never seen her like this before; usually she's so perky and happy that it's annoying."

"I have noticed an intriguing bond in the Auras of you two" Houndour stated.

"What?"

"Your have been rivals has Pokémon coordinators for quite some time, haven't you?"

"Yeah. Though May isn't exactly good enough to be considered a match for me as a rival."

"She won the Grand Festival."

"Well…" Drew paused as this blow to his healthy ego was dealt. "…I guess that's true."

"Maybe you should go talk to her, try to help her feel better."

"What? Why?"

"No one else has managed to get through to her."

"What makes you think I can?"

"I don't know. Well you're a fellow coordinator and you're Auras share the bond of rivalry; and with that comes the potential of great friendship."

"I didn't exactly come with you guys to make friends with you. To be honest I came because I had to."

"Well…" Houndour began thinking. "If not because of that then do it to make yourself useful."

"What?"

"Ash, Pikachu, Kamikaze and I fought of the Prophets, Misty saved me from starving, Dawn and Brock have been cooking all of our food, and Yumi has given us secrets about Tanaka's plan. Everyone has been helpful, except for you, you ain't done nothin'."

Drew halted for a second but then argued, "What about Paul? He hasn't helped."

"That boy doesn't listen to a word anybody says. He's here only because we couldn't live with ourselves if we left him to die."

Drew didn't say anything. Houndour then closed his eyes and probed his Aura. His eyes remained closed as he hypnotically said, "You're reputation as a skillful and accomplished coordinator has earned you much respect and admiration. Many women are smitten by your skills. But their fair-weather affection means nothing to you. In fact, Pokémon coordinating seems to become less meaningful the more sycophants that you attract. But May's rivalry restores your resolve. Attempting to thwart her skills with your own makes you feel like you are striving for something worth having. At the same time you are…_charmed_ by May's differences from you in a way you do not understand. She is not as strong as you but she seems to enjoy coordinating and the company of her Pokémon to a much greater extent than you do. You are jealous and impressed by her at the same time. Part of you longs to be her friend while another part is too proud to admit it."

Drew stared wide-eyed at Houndour after he had finished explaining his emotions in great detail.

Houndour opened his eyes and warned, "There's no use trying to deny any of that. I can sense it if you're lying."

Drew said nothing. Houndour continued, "If you really want to be her friend you can start by being there for her in her time of need. She just lost her brother; this isn't the time for her to be alone."

Drew looked over to the direction of where the sound of May's mourning had come from. "Just go talk to her" Houndour pleaded.

Drew conceded, "All right, I'll try." He walked through some of the trees over to where May was lamenting.

His goal achieved, Houndour returned to the campfire. Brock was stirring rice in a big pot that Kamikaze had brought. Dawn began putting rice into bowls and handing them to everyone. Brock and Dawn had always been good cooks.

Everyone was gathered around the glowing bonfire, save for Ash, May, and Drew. Paul was there too, but as usual he had isolated himself from the group. They had released their Pokémon from their Pokéballs so they could stretch and keep watch for Prophets.

Dawn handed Misty her share of rice. "Thanks Dawn" Misty said gratefully. "How was Ash when you brought him his food?" she asked.

"He wasn't in the mood to talk or eat, again" Dawn sighed worriedly.

"Poor Ash, I never thought that this would happen to him."

"Me neither." Ash hadn't spoken to anyone since the morning after the attack.

Dawn then walked over to Yumi, whose arm was now rapped in a sling from a first aide kit Kamikaze had also had the foresight to bring. She cautiously gave her a bowl of food.

"Thank you Dawn" Yumi said appreciatively. She took the bowel in her right hand and held a pair of chopsticks in her uninjured left one. She then bowed in gratitude.

"Yumi" Brock said, seeing an opportunity. He ran over to her and knelt down. He said, "Surely we cannot expect a wounded lady such as yourself to be expected to eat in such an awkward manner. If there is anything I can do to help you keep from straining yourself please let me know."

Yumi chuckled, "That is all right Brock. I do not wish to be anyone's burden. Besides, it is no strain at all. As you can see, I am ambidextrous." She snapped the chopsticks together to show that her left hand had no trouble wielding them.

"Wow, a very talented and coordinated lady is the way to describe you I see" Brock complimented.

Yumi blushed. "Thank you Brock. Ever since I first came here you have been very kind to me; you begged for my life to be spared, treated my wound, gave me food of the most excellent quality, and have acted as a perfect gentleman."

Brock blushed as well. "Well a fine upstanding lady such as you deserves only the best from those around her."

Yumi kissed Brock on his forehead as a polite show of thanks. At first Brock stood surprised. Then feelings happiness flooded his brain and he collapsed on the ground.

"I think I'm in love" he muttered dreamily. Yumi chuckled.

Then Dawn walked to the edge of the campsite. She handed Paul a dish of rice. He wordlessly snatched it from her hand.

"You're welcome Paul" Dawn said annoyed. Paul said nothing and began eating.

"I said you're welcome" Dawn asserted. Paul ignored her.

"Fine" Dawn said, swiping the bowl form Paul's hands. "If you're going to be a rude, little ass about it then no rice for you."

As Dawn walked away Paul mumbled an obscene insult to her.

"What did you say?!" Dawn yelled. She ran over to Paul.

SMACK!

Dawn slapped Paul in the face with the strength of a tiger. As he rubbed the spot on his face where she struck him he grabbed the saucer of rice and tried to wrestle it from Dawn's hands. Dawn pulled on it as well.

Out of nowhere, the hand of Ash's Monferno flew out and grabbed the bowl. He heaved it away from Paul and handed it to Dawn. Dawn stared in surprise at the monkey as a look of rage and hatred made its way onto his face.

Paul and Monferno's eyes met, in nonverbal yet mutual communication of their antipathy of one another. Monferno had unlocked the power of its Blaze ability with Ash's help not Paul's and when Paul had been Monferno's trainer it had been his goal to unchain that raw might.

Monferno thought of how much Paul's rejection of him had hurt. He had loved Paul the same as he had loved Ash and he had devoted himself to him. But that wasn't good enough for Paul. He wasn't as strong as Paul wanted him to be so he gave up him.

As they stared hatefully into each other's eyes Paul coldly snapped, "Worthless, little weakling."

Monferno's arm glowed with the energy that gave his Mach Punch attack its strength.

POW!

Monferno smashed his fist into Paul's face. The cruel trainer fell to the ground with a proverbial thud. Monferno walked away.

Paul griped and howled in pain.

"Oh my God, are you okay Paul?" Dawn asked as she knelt down to examine him.

"Back off!" Paul ordered.

"What is the matter with you Paul?" Dawn inquired angrily. "Why do always treat everyone like this?"

"Leave me alone!"

Dawn stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Fine, if you want to be alone to wallow in your own pain, go ahead! But you know what Paul, I feel sorry for you! I don't care how many championships you win, you'll still always be a loser. Because of the way you are you'll always be alone. But I guess that's what you want." Dawn sauntered away from him.

Dawn sat down at the edge of the fire. "You sure told him" Brock praised.

"That insolent boy had it coming" Yumi jeered. "When I was growing up men were expected to always treat others with polite respect."

"Yeah," Houndour responded, "what's the world coming to?"

"No kidding" Misty said as she looked over to the area secluded from the fire and hidden by shrubs and trees where Ash sat alone, haunted by his remorse from his actions the night before as his conscience clawed away at his spirit.

"You're really worried about him aren't you Misty?" Houndour asked.

"Yes. I feel like it's my fault. If I didn't put myself in danger Ash wouldn't have had to kill that guy" Misty stated her voice full of guilt.

"He most likely would have had to anyway Misty" Kamikaze cut in. "The only difference is that if he wasn't protecting someone I don't think he would have been able to do it."

"What are you saying?" Misty asked.

"Well, what happened was meant to happen. We must accept it."

"But it's so horrible."

"That depends on how you view it."

"What?"

"Misty, everything on this Earth is just as good as it is evil and vice versa. Like, well, my name for example."

"Your name?"

"Yes. The word kamikaze means 'divine wind'. This word was first used hundreds of years ago when the Mongolian Empire invaded Japan. On the last days of fighting they had assembled a navy so large and powerful that the samurai could not repel it. But then a hurricane raged for days that destroyed the armada and saved Japan from begin conquered. This hurricane was named the kamikaze. But in World War II my name took a sinister meaning. There were Japanese fighter pilots who intentionally crashed their planes into ships as a form of suicide attack. These pilots were called kamikaze pilots. So, my name is just as good as it is evil; I share the name of the wind that saved all of Japan and the name of the pilots who helped destroy Japan's honor."

"Wow" Misty acknowledged. "So do you like your name or not?"

"I choose to view my name as that of the holy wind that saved our country. I choose to view it as good, and that makes it good. Ash must learn to view the good in what he has done" Kamikaze explained wisely.

"It's really hard for him to believe that he did any good, Kamikaze."

"But he did. The evil is that he killed someone. The good is that he saved your life. That is this situation's Yin and Yang."

"You're right" Misty said, placing her hand over her heart. She couldn't believe she came that close to being murdered.

"If his actions were not justified he would have lost his mind already but, there is a part of Ash that knows he did the right thing and that is the only part that is keeping him sane right now. That part is the only child-like part of him that did not die when he lost his innocence. That part must take control of his mind if he is to recover."

"How?"

"He needs you Misty" Houndour advised.

"What?"

"Your life is the good that came from killing that man. Remind him of that. Comfort him. Help him. He needs you" Houndour said, his voice containing no trace of sarcasm.

Misty nodded. "Last night I needed him more than anyone else on Earth. Now the roles are reversed." She stood up and walked away.

When Misty was gone Houndour looked to Pikachu and said, "I'm sorry I yelled at you Pikachu, when you spared Yumi. I forgot what it was like to be innocent, to not know what killing is like. I wish I could be like you again."

"_That's all right Houndour_" Pikachu forgave.

Ash sat alone atop a mossy log, staring at the full moon. His face looked worn and aged. His breathing was weak. He felt like he had died the night before with that man. Every time he blinked or closed his eyes he saw the man's face.

Misty walked through the trees and bushes and came into the clearing where Ash was. She gazed at him sadly. He looked so guilt-ridden. How could she make him feel better? What could she say? What should she do? She thought for a while and then decided what to do.

She went over to log and sat down next to Ash. What she did next she had never done before in all of the five years that she and Ash had known each other. She kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you so much Ash" she told him.

Ash was speechless. He stared at her, stricken with confusion. "W…what?" he whispered.

"You saved my life. Thank you so much."

"But that man…I…I…"

"If you didn't do that I would be dead right now. You did the right thing." She stood up and began to walk away slowly.

Ash thought quickly. Only then did he realize how much he cared about Misty. That was why he had been able to kill that man, not because he was some sort of monster as he had thought.

He stood up and ran towards his friend. "Misty!" he called.

She turned and ran towards him. They met and embraced, holding each other in a comforting hug. Ash began crying, not in guilt or happiness, but in a feeling of relief he did not understand. As he held Misty in his arms he cried, "I had to do it! I couldn't let him kill you!"

"I know Ash" Misty said, smiling. For the longest time they stood their quietly, holding and consoling each other. For the first time since he had killed him, Ash could think without seeing that man's face.

Then they pulled away and sat down on the log again. They gazed wondrously at the gorgeous full moon.

Ash sighed with relief and beamed, "Thank you Misty! For the first time since it happened, I feel like I can live with myself."

"It's all right Ash" Misty said as she leaned over and rested her head on her rescuer's shoulder.

"It is now" Ash replied as he put his arm around her. "You're the best friend anyone could ask for."

"So are you Ash. You're brave, strong and selfless, there's no reason why should be ashamed to live any day of your life."

"I'm sorry Misty."

"For what?"

"For not listening to you when you tried to stop me from trying to get revenge. And for all those times we fought. You deserve a much better friend than I've ever been."

"Ash" Misty chuckled. "There isn't a friend on this entire planet that is better than you."

Ash smiled confidently. "This is why I'm going to stop Tanaka" he said.

"Why?"

"Because of this, because of you and Brock and Dawn and May and everyone else, because of innocent, good people who make the life of a warrior bearable is why. You have shown me the only thing worth killing for; life."

Misty thought of something. She asked, "What are you going to do to Tanaka?"

"I don't know for sure."

"Are you going to kill him?"

"I don't know. I don't want to but I might have to."

"You'll do what's right, I know it" Misty said, rapping her arm around Ash.

"It'll all be worth it, to keep you safe."

For what seemed like all night they sat together like that, holding each other and gazing hopefully at the beautiful, glowing moon, ready for anything.


	19. The Tree of Beginning

Guardians of Aura Chapter 19

Ash and the group stared at the sight they were seeing in awe. They had finally reached the Tree of Beginning. The magnificent, living rock formation loomed over them like a divine mountain. True to its name it resembled a tree, even having a green color. Many plants grew on its surface and Ash could feel the Aura's of hundreds of Pokémon living in the giant peak. Though he already knew of them, this was of course his second visit to the sacred Tree.

"Finally" Ash said. "We made it. It's almost over."

Suddenly, three voices yelled "It's the twerps!"

Just like that, Jessie, James and Meowth scrambled over to the crowd, panting in exhaustion. They collapsed on the ground in front of them.

"Help us!" Meowth begged.

"What?" Ash asked.

"They want to kill us!"

"What happened?"

"Team Rocket's been destroyed!" James informed.

"What?" everyone asked.

Jessie explained, "Tanaka killed our boss and took control of everything. He told all of us Rockets that we could serve him or die."

"I knew he would do that!" Ash proclaimed.

"What did you guys do?" May asked. She had been in a more social mood after last night.

"What the hell kind of question is that? We ran for it!" Jessie shouted.

Suddenly, Butch and Cassidy appeared from behind the trees and ran up to the group. They were wearing Admin outfits and holding much deadlier handguns than before.

"Hold still" Butch said, pointing his gun at James.

"The boss will be real happy when we bring you two losers back to him" Cassidy mocked.

"Cassidy you stupid hussy!" Jessie yelled. "Tanaka killed our real boss and he'll do the same thing to you!"

"I don't think so" Cassidy said as she aimed her weapon at Jessie's head.

Kamikaze stepped in front of Jessie. Being taller than her he stood between the muzzle of the gun and her. "Please just put your weapons away and leave while you still can" he said.

Cassidy pulled the trigger on her weapon. The bullet bounced off of Kamikaze's shield of Aura.

Yumi, with her arm having been healed by the combined strength of Ash and Kamikaze that morning stepped forward and declared, "How dare you attack my sensei!"

She threw forward two Aura Spheres that crashed into Butch and Cassidy and knocked them unconscious on contact.

"Uh…thanks twerps" Meowth thanked unsurely. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"We're going to stop the invasion" Yumi informed.

"The invasion is happening right now!" James shouted.

"What?!"

"We must hurry!" Kamikaze ordered.

"Wait!" Houndour shouted as he heard something with his keen ears. "Do you hear that?"

Kamikaze, Ash and Pikachu, nodded. Everyone else seemed confused. Houndour continued, "It's too far away for a normal human to hear, but what is it?" He closed his eyes and used his Aura to look.

"Oh, crap!" he cursed.

"What's wrong Houndour?" Misty asked.

Houndour nervously informed, "Hunters! Prophets, and Rockets, and a there's a lot more of them this time! Tanaka must have sent them to stop us."

"Should we try to fight them?" Yumi asked helpfully.

"Too many of them! We have to try to outrun them and get to the Heart of the Tree of Beginning before they catch us" Houndour explained frantically.

They began to shuffle into the Tree when Houndour added, "Oh, yeah, something you should know Ash and Pikachu; they're armed with bows and arrows."

"Why does that matter?" Ash asked.

"They'll charge the arrows with the power of their Aura. Their arrows can hurt us."

"Are they as deadly as Aura Spheres?"

"Deadlier; like how to a normal person using an arrow is deadlier that using your bear hands. Now come on!"

They all hurried into the Tree.

Meanwhile, in San Diego, California numerous armed soldiers stood on the largest beach on the coast of the targeted city. The President of the United States had received a warning of Tanaka's attack, from Tanaka himself. Tanaka had established contact with the President and claimed responsibility for the deaths of the American soldiers in Japan and told him of his invasion plan. He dared him to try and stop him.

Naturally the President did not take Tanaka's claim that his soldiers had superpowers and could not be killed seriously but nevertheless he had mobilized the military and National Guard to meet the invasion. He had also ordered San Diego be evacuated.

The soldiers became uneasy when they spotted something in the horizon. Many grey colored airships were making their way to the edge of the coastline.

The leader of the soldiers spoke into a communication device he said, "Air Support have you established radio contact with the hostiles?"

"Affirmative, general" a voice from the communicator said.

"Will they surrender?"

"Uh, they refused sir."

"Damn. See if you can take them out before this gets too ugly Air Support."

"Understood sir."

Then, half a dozen fighter jets darted across the sky towards the airships. Two of them fired missiles at the ship in the front of the line. A spherical field of light made itself visible around the ship. It absorbed the detonation.

"What the hell was that?" the general asked into his communicator. "The missiles didn't do anything."

"Uh, we had confirmed hits on both of those general, but it appears that those airships are protected by some sort of a shield" the leader of the Air Support explained.

"What kind of shield?"

"Uh…we have no idea. We can't identify its energy source, but all of the ships appear to have one."

"Damn it!" the general swore as he threw his communicator on the ground. As the ships drew closer he picked up his machine gun and told the other soldiers, "Men, this just got a whole lot harder."

All the while, a group of Prophets and Rockets had assembled at the entrance of the Tree. The Prophets carried bows and swords and the Rockets were armed with guns.

Their leader said, "We are to stop them from reaching the Heart of the Tree by any means necessary."

One of the Rockets said, "So you want us to capture them and take them to back to the base?"

The leader shook his head. He said, "Tanaka is not interested in prisoners. You're orders are to terminate them."

The Rocket seemed shocked. "Hey buddy when I signed up for this job they didn't say anything about killing people."

"That is an oddly noble sentiment, coming from a common thief such as you."

"I'm a thief but I'm no murderer."

The leader sighed lazily and unsheathed his sword. He flung it back and ended the disobedient Rocket's life. "Anyone else have any moral qualms?" the leader asked. The Rockets shook their heads fearfully.

"Good. Now let's make one thing clear; either all of our targets die or all of you pathetic Team Rocket members die."

Back in the Tree of Beginning Ash and the others were advancing through the caverns and forest-like areas that made up the Tree. So far they had encountered no obstacles. At this point they were in an area that had an underground lake that was surrounded by forest. Many Pokémon frolicked through this place, including ones who had not been seen anywhere else alive for thousands of years such as Aerodactyl and Kabuto. The Pokémon paid no notice to the large group of humans.

"I can't believe our boss is dead" James sulked.

"What are we going to do with our lives now?" Jessie asked.

"Pokémon thievery is all we know" Meowth moaned.

"Maybe you three could try going straight" Dawn posed, only halfway serious.

"Never!" Jessie replied.

"Maybe she's right Jessie" James said.

"What?!"

"Thieving hasn't exactly been putting bread on the table or money in our wallets" Meowth reminded. Jessie moaned in an annoyed fashion, but could offer no argument.

"_That'll be the day_" Ash thought to himself. Ash then noticed that Houndour was eyeing him skeptically. The dog had an exuberant grin on his face.

"_What Houndour?_" Ash asked, for some reason compelled to talk in private.

"_I have sensed something new in your Aura, a new flare, the Pink Flare_" Houndour informed happily.

"_What?_"

"_In my life I have only sensed it twice before this. First when Kamikaze met Sakura and again when Satoshi and Delia were together._"

"_W…what are you saying?_"

Houndour looked over to Misty eagerly. He chuckled happily and said, "_You two have fallen for each other, haven't you?_"

Ash stuttered, "_I…I don't know what you're talking about._"

"_Ash you know that when someone lies their Aura's react nervously. Right now your Aura is going crazy._"

Ash couldn't construct a reply.

"_Why don't you just tell her? She's right over there. We can give you a moment of privacy._"

"_T…there's nothing to tell._"

"_You're lying. I suppose I should've seen this coming; after all your bond of friendship is one of the strongest I've ever seen. Just tell her._"

"_Y…you're making this up._"

Suddenly Pikachu joined in. Somehow he had sensed the nature of this conversation and managed to hear it even though Ash tried to conceal it. He said, "_Come on Ash what are you afraid of? Just tell Misty you love her._"

Ash knew that even trying to lie to Pikachu would be futile. He replied uneasily, "_N…no._"

"_Why not?_"

"_Yeah it's not like you would get rejected_" Houndour argued. "_You're a Guardian of Aura for crying out loud! You have superpowers and you saved her life. She would have to be crazy to reject you. Not that she isn't a catch too; she's kind, nurturing, brave, emotionally sound, and a great Pokémon trainer, not to mention very pretty._"

Ash looked over to Misty longingly. "_She is_" he agreed.

"_Then just tell her already._"

"_I…I just can't._"

"_Why not_?"

"_Misty almost got killed. When that was happening I felt like it would be the worst thing in the world. If we were together I know it would destroy me if she died._"

"_If you really love her it would feel like that no matter what. But there's no guarantee she'll die so much sooner than you._"

"_Yeah there is; I'm a Guardian of Aura. I'll age much slower than her, I can live through diseases that would kill her, and it's a lot harder to murder me._"

"_Well that's true. But what's the point of living so long if you don't try to make that life meaningful and happy? You're most likely going to outlive her no matter what, why not enjoy it while she is still alive?_"

Before Ash could answer an arrow that was glowing with blue fire whizzed past his head and stuck in the ground as it landed. Ash turned his head and saw many men wearing Team Rocket uniforms and others wearing samurai robes.

"Run!" Houndour shouted.

Taking Houndour at his word the others followed Kamikaze as he ran into one of the caverns to escape the rifle and arrow fire that was now being directed at them.

The cavern they retreated into was very cave-like; it was dark, its floors were made of stone, and blue crystals jutted from the ground in every direction.

"Hurry!" Kamikaze ordered.

They ran through the passage as fast as their legs would carry them. But not fast enough. A Prophet shot an arrow that narrowly missed them. Houndour turned around and shot a wave of flames from his mouth that charred the bow and disintegrated its string. He then shot out a Shadow Ball that knocked the Prophet out cold. They continued on.

"This path leads directly to the Heart!" Kamikaze yelled. They continued through the passage until they came into a huge chamber. The chamber was filled with many bridges of rock leading into various caverns.

Many Rockets scrambled over the bridge and aimed their guns at the crowd. Houndour jumped back and used his Protect move. A force field surrounded the group as he used his Aura to expand it. The bullets bounced off of it.

"I can only hold this for so long!" he yelled. They continued running across the stone ledge trying desperately to reach the cavern at its end, but it seemed too far away to reach.

Suddenly, a group of Rockets and Prophets appeared in front of them, blocking the path. They pulled out swords and began hammering away on the shield. Houndour strained to hold up the Protect.

Other Prophets gathered on the bridges further away and began firing inflamed arrows at the guard. The Rockets began shooting at them as well.

"We're surrounded!" Ash yelled.

Then, a powerful arrow struck the shield and with the power of its awesome Aura, nearly broke it. Ash, Kamikaze, and Yumi drew their swords.

Misty accidently stepped out of the shield and out of the blue a bullet struck in front of her foot and she fell back. She fell off the ledge. "Misty!" Ash yelled as he lunged forward, grabbing her hand with his.

As Misty dangled over the ledge and her doom she yelled, "Look out!" An arrow flew threw the air, towards at Ash's head. There was no time for him to react without letting go of Misty. The arrow was almost upon him when out of nowhere an Aura Sphere shot forward and destroyed it. Ash turned and saw Yumi's arm outstretched. Yumi then grabbed Misty's free hand and helped Ash hoist her up.

"Yumi" Ash said, "You…you saved our lives."

Yumi smiled. "Of course I did" she said, "It's just like our sensei taught us; all life is precious."

"Thank you" Ash said gratefully.

Yumi smiled widely, "We are both Kamikaze's students and True Guardians, and I know you would do the same thing for me."

"Any time, any place."

A bullet struck Ash's shield. "How many of these guys are there?!"

"There's too many!" Houndour yelled as the Prophets who were on the bridge advanced on them and the bombardment of arrows and bullets continued.

"_Tell Misty now!_" Pikachu shouted to Ash privately.

"_This isn't a very good time!_" Ash argued.

"_We're going to die in about five seconds, just do it!_"

Suddenly, the Protect shattered like glass. "Oh, no!" Houndour yelled.

"Misty!" Ash yelled. Misty turned her head to him, "There…there's…something I need to…"

Before he could finish a huge red mass flew over his group and swallowed up a Prophet who was about to attack Houndour. As the gelatinous mass engulfed the man it was absorbed into the ground and the Prophet disappeared. It was one of the white blood cells of the Tree of Beginning, its natural guard against threats.

More and more blood cells made their way into the cave and began gobbling up the Prophets and the Rockets. They ignored the group of children and True Guardians.

Taking this chance, the group ran up the bridge and into the cavern.

They entered the Heart of the Tree of Beginning. At the center of it was a large mass of crystals that rose up and extended a heavenly light.

"Mew!" Kamikaze beseeched.

After a while, a small pink Pokémon floated down from the roof of the Tree. It was levitating and resembled a bipedal cat.

"_Hi_" Mew said casually.

"Mew can talk?" Meowth asked.

"_Well, of course I can silly_" Mew chuckled. Its voice sounded feminine and childish.

"Why didn't you talk before?"

"_I didn't have anything to say._"

"Great and powerful Mew, we have come here to…" Kamikaze said.

Mew flew in front of Kamikaze and twitched its tail in his face. Mew said, "_Of course I know why you're here, silly little Guardian. You want my friend to stop Tanaka's army._"

Kamikaze seemed thrown off by Mew's happy-go-lucky nature but continued, "Will you help us?"

"_It's not up to me. My friend is the one who decides what to do with the power I give it._"

"Will your 'friend' help us?"

"_I don't know. I'll ask._" Mew then closed its eyes and was surrounded by a green light for a few seconds.

"_Yes_" Mew said.

"Great!" Houndour exclaimed.

"_Wait_" Mew cautioned. "_My friend wants something in return. There's something you True Guardians must do before my friend will help you._"

"We'll do anything" Kamikaze assured.

"_Taking yourselves a little seriously aren't you?_" Mew joked. "_But anyway, my friend says that Tanaka is a monster who abused powers he didn't deserve to spread war and chaos. If you kill him my friend will help you. Oh, how beastly! _"

"No problem" Houndour said.

"_Silly little Houndour, you aren't going to be the one to kill him_" Mew laughed.

"What?"

"_My friend was very specific, my friend is goofy like that, my friend wants Ash to kill him._" 

"W…what?!" Ash asked.

Mew flew over to him. "_Silly Guardian, you heard what I said. My friend wants you to kill Tanaka. If you do my friend will stop the army lickedy-split._"

"Please, isn't there another way?" Ash asked.

"_Silly Guardian, of course there isn't one._"

"But why, why do I have to…" he had trouble forcing himself to say the word "kill". "…finish him?"

"_Silly little boy haven't you been paying attention? My friend wants you to_" Mew answered as though it was speaking to a five-year-old.

"But why, why do I have to…kill him? Why does the Tree want me to?"

"Yeah he's just a kid" Houndour cut in. "Let one of us do it" he added pointing to Kamikaze and Yumi.

"_Silly little doggy, my friend wants Ash to do it. No one else is to help him but his partner_" Mew replied.

"Why? We're Guardians of Aura too; stopping Tanaka is just as much our duty as his."

"_Silly Houndour, you have already earned your places as the leaders of the rebuilding of the Guardians. You have nothing to prove to my friend._"

"What?"

As it addressed each of them Mew flew to the faces of the people saying, "_You and Kamikaze fought bravely in World War II to defend the world from Tanaka. And you Yumi, you defied Tanaka and realized the error of your ways and became a True Guardian despite how hard it was. Ash hasn't done anything like that._"

"I saved the Tree from dying" Ash pointed out.

"_You proved yourself worthy of being a Guardian, no doubt but you haven't proven yourself worthy of leading the next generation of Guardians_" Mew said.

"Why do I have to lead them?"

"_Silly goof, it's your responsibility as the youngest living True Guardian._"

"You don't understand! I can't kill him! I don't want to! I don't…I…"

"_I understand. But this isn't about you; it's about your responsibility._"

"Tanaka is too strong for us to make Ash and Pikachu fight alone" Kamikaze protested.

"_Silly old Guardian there is always a way to win_" Mew chortled.

"Please don't make me do this" Ash begged.

"_Hmm…my friend figured you'd say that. My friend is really smart, no doubt. My friend knows how to convince you, no doubt. My friend has a memory picked out, a memory of your dear old departed daddy. That will motivate you, no doubt._"

"A memory of my father? Why would that help?"

"_You have to see it first silly. Show it to him my friend!_"

From the crystal center of the Tree a magnificent light erupted and formed a giant screen of the past.

In the memory Satoshi stood in the forest-like mountains. He was facing a young woman with pinkish red hair and a young man with orange-ish red hair, the same color as Misty's.

Misty squinted her eyes. "Those people look familiar" she said.

"_Those are your parents silly little Misty_" Mew explained casually.

Misty was about to speak when the memory interrupted.

"Hey Ken" Satoshi greeted, high-fiving the man. The man named Ken looked the same age as Satoshi, but a few years older.

"Hi Satoshi" Misty's mother said as they hugged friendlily. She was the same age as Ken.

"Hi Kasumi" Satoshi said.

"_Misty's parents were your father's best friends Ash_" Mew explained.

"This was a weird place for us to meet" Ken pointed out.

"Sorry about that" Satoshi replied. "But it had to be private."

"Can't get anymore private than this."

"So what's wrong Sato?" Kasumi asked. Other than her hair color, she looked exactly like Misty.

Satoshi turned around and sighed heavily. He said, "I am a father."

"Oh, that's great Satoshi!" Kasumi exclaimed as she hugged him again. A smile was painted on Ken's face but it disappeared when he looked at the wedding ring on his left hand. Despite their youthful appearances, Ken and Kasumi were in their early 30's. They had been married since they were 18.

"I don't see a ring on your finger" Ken said gauntly.

Kasumi pulled away and looked at Satoshi's hand. "No" Satoshi replied, shaking his head.

"Are you going to put one there soon?" Ken asked judgingly. Satoshi shook his head.

"I'll assume Delia is the mother." Satoshi nodded his head.

Kasumi seemed crestfallen. "Sato, you can't be…you can't make Delia go through this alone" she told him.

"I don't have a choice" Satoshi replied.

"Don't give us that crap!" Ken shouted, growing impatient. "You have a child. It's your job to raise him."

"I want to."

"Then do it."

"I can't."

"Why?"

Satoshi sighed, "I'm going to die soon."

"What?" Kasumi asked. "Are you sick?"

Satoshi shook his head. "Either someone is going to kill me soon, or I'm going to die…in another way" he explained.

"You're lying" Ken accused. "If someone wanted to kill you, you would just go to the police."

"The police can't help."

"Sato" Kasumi said. "This is the worst lie I've ever heard."

Machop interrupted, "_He is not lying!_"

"Machop!" Ken yelled. "You can talk!"

"_Of course I can. Satoshi is leaving because he has to protect Delia and their son from something. That's the only reason they aren't married right now. And he is going to die soon, either him or me, or both of us._"

Ken seemed convinced of this somehow. "Delia will resent you forever for this" he warned.

"_Their love is true_" Machop said. "_This isn't enough to end it._"

"There's no way to save you?" Kasumi asked, concerned. Machop shook his head.

"Please," Satoshi said as he pulled out an envelope "Help Delia and watch over my son. Give him this letter when he is old enough. And tell him, and Delia, and my dad that I love them."

Ken took the letter. "When will he be old enough?" he asked.

"My dad will know." Satoshi then pulled out a Stone of Aura and handed it to Ken. "Give him that when you give him the letter."

Ash then looked at the Stone of Aura that was wrapped around his neck, they were the same.

The memory ended then.

"My father…" Ash stuttered, his voice sounding as though he had seen a miracle, "…loved me."

"_Of course he did silly_" Mew said.

"Thank you for showing me that Mew."

"What happened to my parents?" Misty asked.

"_Nobutada killed them when he was looking for more Guardians to recruit as Prophets. His search led him to Satoshi and his trail led him to your parents. He tried to make them tell him where Satoshi and Machop were. They refused. He ripped up Satoshi's letter and threw his Stone in the river. When Nobutada did find Satoshi he killed him as well. That's not very nice._"

"What was my father trying to do?" Ash asked.

"_Your dad learned about the existence of the Prophets sometime soon after your mother became pregnant. He knew he had to stop them. His plan was to come here and do…basically what you're doing now. He knew he would either be killed trying or that he would die sacrificing himself to my friend to give my friend the power to stop the Prophets. Satoshi knew his Aura wouldn't be strong enough by itself since he wasn't a Blossom so both he and Machop would sacrifice themselves. He didn't tell Kamikaze because he knew Kamikaze would come here and make the sacrifice himself and he knew that Kamikaze would need to be alive so he could train Ash._"

"Sacrifice?" Ash repeated. He then remembered how Sir Aaron and Lucario had sacrificed themselves to the Tree so it could use the power of their Aura to heal itself and stop the war. He realized that Kamikaze must have known about that; he must have planned to sacrifice himself but didn't tell Ash so he wouldn't argue.

"When I kill Tanaka, will one of us have to be sacrificed to the Tree?" Ash asked.

"_Silly Guardian, my friend isn't strong enough to do it without a sacrifice_" Mew answered.

"I'll do it." Everyone gasped.

"No Ash!" Kamikaze opposed. "You must live. For the Guardians to survive you must live. It is much less of a setback if I do it."

"_He is right, silly Ash. You sacrificing yourself is out of the question. My friend won't have it. But…_" Mew looked towards Kamikaze "…_Ash isn't ready to continue without his teacher._"

"I'll do it!" Yumi proclaimed.

Kamikaze looked towards Yumi. He said, "Yumi…"

"Don't try to stop me sensei" Yumi demanded. "The world needs Ash and Ash needs you. It is an honor to give my life for the sake of peace."

Kamikaze put his hands on Yumi's shoulders. "I will miss you" he said. Yumi kissed her master's cheek.

"Excuse me Ash" Misty interrupted. "Did you say 'when' you kill Tanaka?"

Ash nodded his head. "I'm going to fight him and defeat him. I'm going to save the Americans and everyone else" he declared.

"But Ash this isn't a Pokémon battle or a game. This is a serious fight, you have to win it" Misty cautioned.

"I know that."

"Ash if you don't win…he'll _kill_ you."

"Then I'll die like a man, just like my father."


	20. Ash and Tanaka

Guardians of Aura Chapter 20

**One can imagine how embarrassed I was when I realized I had mixed up Lady Ilene and Rin in my previous chapters. Rest assured I have fixed said issue.**

In the tallest, most vibrant mountain in the Kanto region grew a magnificent, open field that glowed green with its every blade of grass. In a bright flash of light, Mew, Ash and Pikachu appeared in the field. Mew had brought them there with the power of its Teleport move.

"Where are we?" Ash asked.

"_Somewhere where no innocent bystanders will be hurt_" Mew answered.

"Good."

Pikachu looked at Ash confidently and said, "_Nice clothes Ash._"

Ash wondered what the mouse meant but looked at himself and saw something weird. He was dressed in a blue medieval vest and trousers with grey arm and leg coverings underneath that greatly resembled Sir Aaron's usual outfit during his life. Also like the Aura Hero Ash was wearing blue boots, gloves with sapphires firmly sewn on the back palm, a hat bearing a Guardian symbol, and a long cape that draped from his shoulders.

"Where did this come from?" Ash inquired, holding the cape, marveling at it.

"_My friend gave it to you while we were teleporting_" Mew responded.

"Why?"

"_I don't know. My friend is silly like that. Even I don't fully understand how my friend works. I guess it's more climactic._"

Ash then looked wondrously at his gloves. The sapphires etched on to them were beautiful and majestic. His hands felt stronger when he wore them. He felt his Aura vibrantly emitting from them.

"_Those gloves will enhance your Aura's power, no doubt, but not by a very big margin. Those sapphires come from deep inside my friend's mines. I saved those gloves from the last time, when you wore them while saving my friend's life._"

"This is great!" Ash proclaimed.

"_My friend knew you would like it. My friend also knows how grateful you are so there is no need to waste breath by thanking my friend_" Mew told him.

"Thank you for everything."

"_I said not to waste your breath. Besides, you don't have anything to thank me for._"

"But you showed me that memory and saved us from the Prophets."

"_My friend did that. My friend's antibodies ate up those Prophets like cookies. I didn't do anything._"

"_Now then_" Mew said, sounding more serious. "_There is one more thing that you need._"

Mew closed its eyes and a pink light shined around its body.

Many miles away, in Cameran Palace Lady Ilene stood on her balcony with the staff of Sir Aaron in her hands. She was examining it as she often did in her spare time. It was a magnificent tool that could be used effectively as a royal scepter or as a deadly weapon. At the staff's head a carved diamond rested surrounded by thick metal rings that had chime-like prongs dangling from it. Ilene's handmaiden stood behind her as she held it.

Suddenly the staff began to glow a bright blue light and then vanished into thin air.

Ilene was unfazed but her maiden exclaimed, "The staff, where did it go?!"

Ilene didn't need to think to know what happened. She had waited for this day for a long time as her mother and grandmother had. "It's gone to its rightful owner" she said regally.

"Owner? But the staff would never be wielded by anyone but a Tajiri and the last Tajiri died decades ago."

"That is what I thought as well. It seems we were wrong. The Guardians of Aura have returned."

In the mountains the staff materialized in Mew's hand-like forepaws. Mew floated over to Ash and offered it to him.

"_This belongs to you Ash_" Mew said as Ash took the staff in his hands.

"What?" Ash said flabbergasted. "But I…"

"_You are Sir Aaron's heir, the inheriting son of the Tajiri family legacy. It only makes sense for you to have it._" It felt odd to hear Mew speaking so seriously.

"Wow" Ash marveled, twirling the staff in his hands. "Looking at this, I kind of wish my last name was Tajiri."

"_No matter what any legal document says, you will always be a Tajiri just as much as a Ketchum._"

"The Tajiri part seems just a little more noble."

"_You don't have to be a Guardian of Aura to be great._"

"Not that I mean…Well my father had such wonderful parents; my grandfather never stops thinking about how wonderful my grandmother was and as for him…well he's been like a father to me. But my mother's parents kicked her out on her own when…well you know."

"_Well you're right. Your father came from a loving and proud family. His parents nurtured him, taught him all they knew about life, and were always proud to call him their son. Your mother was not so fortunate. Her parents were controlling, judgmental, emotionally distant, and never proud of her. Your father's friendship and love gave her sanctuary. And even after he died she had Professor Oak to turn to._"

"I never knew she had it that bad. She never talks about her childhood."

"_Part of the reason she is such a loving mother to you is because she wants you to be happier than she was. You allowed her to recover from all of the trauma she had to endure since you were all she had left._"

"You're right."

"_But remember Ash, you're also a Ketchum as much as you are a Tajiri. Your grandparents may have been not the best but your mother was. If a family has at least one good member of it then its name is worth having._"

"I guess you're right."

Ash gripped the staff tightly. He felt strong holding his family's legacy. "Where is Tanaka?" he asked, feeling ready.

"_Wait here. He will come_" Mew answered and at the same time teleported away.

Meanwhile in San Diego the invasion continued. In the largest ship, the flagship, J the Hunter, who had provided the airships as use for transportation, looked out a large window. As one of the ships landed she told a man who was standing next to her, "The first ship made contact."

"Yes" the man said quietly. The man next to her was extremely intimidating. He was no shorter that six-and a half-feet tall, maybe taller, he was amazingly muscular and his face was cool and calculating and bore no hint of emotion. The man was Tanaka.

Tanaka felt Mew's presence touching him and he was told something.

"Nobutada is in command until I return" Tanaka said, turning around and leaving with no explanation. His voice sounded dead and cold and completely detached from humanity though it had a slightly sinister curl at the end of it that was the only tangible aspect of him that revealed the slightest hint of his personality.

J followed him, bewildered. "Where are you going?!" the poacher asked impatiently.

"There is a matter of business that I must attend to."

"Well what is it?!"

"That is none of your concern."

"You can't leave in the middle of the invasion!"

"Do not question me."

"I'm not taking orders from Nobutada that co-" She was cut off when Tanaka turned around a gripped her throat is his hands.

As he lifted her above his head and constricted her breathing more he warned, "If you don't wish to end up like Giovanni, you will never speak to me with such insolence ever again." He opened his hand and J fell to the floor with a thud.

"You…" J coughed as she struggled to breathe. "You said Giovanni had a heart attack." Giovanni was of course the leader of Team Rocket who Tanaka had betrayed.

"I lied" Tanaka stated simply, no trace of guilt in his voice.

"Why would you do it?"

"It's quite simple. Giovanni became arrogant. As time progressed and his services became more needed they also became more expensive. In time he began asking for too much wealth and power in the New World and I agreed to give it to him. So of course I had to remove him. I couldn't risk even the smallest threat existing in my New World."

"….What else have you lied about?"

"Anything and everything I have seen fit to."

"You…you can't do this to me!"

"And what pray tell are you going to do to stop me? Or the better question is what _can_ you do? You've seen what my men can do and you haven't even seen a fraction of what _I _can do."

J the Hunter gasped in fearful horror, knowing that what he said was true.

"Let us get one thing strait; you are alive only because you are useful to me. For your sake I hope that does not change."

Ash and Pikachu stood waiting quietly.

"Pikachu" Ash started. "If we're fighting him and it looks like we're going to lose, I want you to run."

"_That's not going to happen Ash_" Pikachu asserted.

"There's no reason that both of us should…"

"_I mean that we aren't going to lose. But you know that there's no way that I would run away and leave you to die._"

"Pikachu…"

"_Ash we were partners a long time before we were Guardians. Remember when we first met and that flock of Spearow attacked? In that moment when we stood up to them and protected each other I knew that whatever challenges and dangers we encountered we would face them together. We are going to stop Tanaka or die trying, together. You know there's nothing you can say to change my mind._"

"I know Pikachu, you're right. We'll face him together."

Suddenly, in a flash of blue light, Mew appeared back in the field about 10 feet away from them. Tanaka was with it. In that same instant Mew disappeared again, returning to the Tree where it, along with Ash's allies would watch the battle from affair via the Tree's power.

"So you're the famous Ash Ketchum, son of Satoshi Tajiri, grandson of my greatest foe Kamikaze Tajiri, and heir of Sir Aaron whom I have heard so much about" Tanaka said.

Ash replied, "So you're the famous Tanaka Yoshiro, the greatest traitor and mass-murderer the Guardians have ever known."

"I see your sensei has passed down his opinions to you."

"It's an opinion that you have killed many people who didn't deserve it?"

"Whether or not the people I have slain deserved it is a matter of perspective."

"No it isn't. They only reason to kill someone is because they are trying to kill you or somebody else."

"Such heartwarming idealism, though one day you will discover the truth. What it is like to be a child and still retain such thoughts I almost wish I could remember."

"You don't look that old" Ash said perplexed. It was true; Tanaka looked as though he was still in his prime of youth. His hair was still dark, his face held no wrinkles, and he was in athletic shape.

"Yes. Well I am much more powerful than any other Guardian. I am 100 years older than your master and I have retained my youth far longer than him" Tanaka replied egotistically.

"There's…no way you're that old."

"It's like I said, I am more powerful than any other Guardian."

"No you're not."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You aren't powerful at all. Your Aura is weak. The Tree never gave you powers, you stole them."

"Stole them? I'm afraid you have your facts all mixed up."

"Don't even try to deny it! I know your father killed himself to give you his powers because you were never good enough to get them on your own."

Tanaka scowled. "You know an awful lot for a child" he sneered.

"My grandfather told me all about you. You killed his father. I guess it fits that I get to avenge him today" Ash boasted.

"Really?" Tanaka challenged. "Tell me dear child are you going to kill me? I thought such actions were almost never justified."

"I don't want to kill you, whether or not I have to is your choice."

"Is that so? I am responsible for the death of your master's father, my men have almost murdered you on numerous occasions, and I plan to destroy an entire nation yet you still share in Kamikaze's weakness."

"What you call 'weakness' I call having a heart."

"I have outgrown such foolishness."

"I guess that's why the Tree blessed me and not you."

"I don't see it that way."

"Really? Then how do you see it?"

"Look at me Ash! I am the most powerful man in the world! I mentored thousands of Guardians of Aura under the wreckage of Japan's greatest failure. I control an army that I could use to destroy the entire planet if I wanted to! The Tree didn't grant me powers because it knew from those ashes of shame and dishonor that I would rise and claw my way up to my true destiny; being Supreme Emperor of the World!" Tanaka self-justified, finally emoting slightly.

"I guess believing that helps you sleep at night" Ash replied, swatting the proclamation away.

"I have _nothing_ to be guilty for!"

"You've killed and caused the deaths of thousands of innocent people throughout your life."

"I am the Emperor! I know what is best for the world."

"You're not the Emperor yet!"

"No? In a few hours my army will have annihilated the most powerful and wealthy nation on Earth. After America falls the rest of the countries will be no challenge to conquer."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

"But Ash, dear boy you do have something to say about it!" Tanaka said invitingly.

"What?" Ash asked.

"Why must you say no? Once I rebuild the world there will be no more fighting, no more wars, no more chaos. There will be peace. Why do you want to stop that?"

"Because you're wrong."

"Is that what you really think or is that you repeating Kamikaze's words?"

"I trust his judgment."

"It was his order's judgment that the best way to end the war was to eradicate every single Guardian on Earth. But I am not like that. Ash, we are creating a world of peace and prosperity. You can be a part of that. You can be a hero."

"What?"

"You are a remarkable Guardian. You defeated my strongest general, you vanquished my greatest assassin, and you fought your way to the Tree of Beginning. You are a much greater Guardian than any of those who serve me. Join me. Be my apprentice. Imagine what we could do together."

"I already have a sensei."

"I urge you to reconsider. I am the Emperor. I can make your wildest dreams come true. I could help you achieve anything you want; love, money, power. Tell me anything you want and I will give it to you if you join me. Tell me absolutely anything you want in this world."

Ash took a deep breath and said simply, "I want my father back."

"So…that is how it's going to be" Tanaka said, his smile disappearing. "You intend to hold me accountable for a murder I did not commit."

"It was your general acting under your orders!"

"Nobutada is a rogue dog; it's very hard to control him."

"He's a mindless servant who only does something if he thinks you would want him to! You would have done the same thing!"

"Well, I guess there is no way to convince you then. So what are you going to do Ash? I am much too strong for you to smite."

"We'll see about that."

"Really? Seeing as you already know my secret I may as well tell you this. For every Aura that is given to me I become as strong as that person was and I shall live the amount of years they lived longer. For example if I absorb a 65-year-olds' Aura I will live 65 more years. And for each Aura I gain my strength is multiplied. For example, three Aura's absorbed gives me the power of three Guardians combined in my body. At this point I have the might of a small army contained in my body and I will live for hundreds of years more unless someone kills me, highly unlikely."

"You're exaggerating."

"Am I? Tell me Ash, can you do this?" As he said this, Tanaka snapped his fingers. In that instant, a golf ball sized Aura Sphere appeared over is head. For a few seconds it crackled with dazzling light energy.

BOOM!

The tiny sphere burst into a huge explosion.

Ash gasped.

"Like it?" Tanaka asked. "I call it the Aura Bomb. But the Guardians had another name for it; the Forbidden Technique. They called it that because it was so deadly that almost no one could be trusted with the ability to use it. I can make one of them appear anywhere I want. I could even plant one right inside your body, regardless of your Aura Shield and blow you up from this inside out. I could kill you without fighting you, standing right here. So why don't I?"

Ash said nothing.

"Well I am eager to see what you can do. Killing you without playing around first would be boring. So how about this; you get one free shot. I will let one attack slide without protecting myself. You'd better make it a good one" Tanaka proposed, sounding as though he thought he was unbeatable. "And don't keep my waiting for too long."

Ash thought quickly. What could he do to Tanaka in one move that would make a difference? An Aura Sphere wouldn't be enough. He could come at him with his sword, but he might be bluffing and just wanted to draw him in close. He couldn't attack him with his bear hands, as he thought that he looked at his hands and saw what they were holding, Sir Aaron's staff. This was the staff that the first Guardian had sealed Lucario in to spare him the fate of being sacrificed to the Tree. Sealing him; that was it! Tanaka would never expect it; no one knew of Lucario's entrapment until he was released, no knew the staff could do that. But could Ash do it too?

Ash charged the staff with the energy of his Aura and told it, not sure if it could hear him, "_Trap him inside you forever!_" He threw the stave and it stuck in the ground next to Tanaka. Nothing happened at first but then the jewel of the staff and Tanaka started to glow a bright blue light. The light that was Tanaka flew into the gem and disappeared.

"_Well that was easy_" Pikachu remarked.

"As long as no one ever lets him out we'll be fine" Ash assured.

"_But doesn't the Tree want you to…_" Pikachu started when he was interrupted by a rattling sound. The scepter had begun shaking wildly. In a huge implosion of illumination, Tanaka erupted out of the staff.

"Well that was a cute, little trick" Tanaka mocked, brushing himself off. "That would have worked against anyone else."

Tanaka then picked up the staff. "If the legends are true that is not all this glorious weapon could do" he said as he pointed the head of the stick at Ash. Nothing happened. "So the legends are true" Tanaka added. "Only a Tajiri's Aura can activate its power."

He tossed it aside. "Oh well, I need no weapons, I need no help. I shall kill you by myself with my bear hands." Ash noticed there was no sword on Tanaka's hip. This gave Ash an advantage. Ash drew his katana.

"Your grandfather inflicted fatal injuries on me when we fought and I recovered. Do you have any idea how to kill me Ash?" Tanaka asked.

"I'll cut you in half and see if that works" Ash menaced. Tanaka chuckled.

"You can try." Tanaka rushed at Ash. Ash thrust his blade forward. Tanaka swatted it out of his hand. Tanaka extended his other hand, which was charged with Aura, and smacked Ash in the face with his palm. Ash flew back several dozen feet and landed on his face.

"_Ash!_" Pikachu yelled. "_Take this you monster!_" A lightning bolt shot from Pikachu's body and struck Tanaka.

"That tickled" Tanaka guffawed conceitedly, his body bearing no injuries or signs that he had felt any pain.

"_We'll see who's laughing when this is over!_"

"You know, I've never liked Pokémon, useless, stupid, little creatures" Tanaka insulted. He then charged his foot with his Aura and kicked Pikachu like a football. Also like a football, Pikachu flew dozens of feet in the air and landed roughly.

Ash ran back up to the Prophet and flung an Aura Sphere at him at point blank. It collided with Tanaka and did nothing.

Tanaka grabbed Ash's neck and flung him in the air. Ash fell on the ground next to the staff.

"You can't beat me, you can't even hurt me" Tanaka bragged.

Instinctively, Ash reached for the nearest potential weapon. He grabbed Sir Aaron's staff and stood up.

"Do you have any idea how to use that thing?" Tanaka asked mockingly.

"I know I can use it and you can't!" Ash replied. As infused the staff with his Aura's energy. The diamond in the staff began to glow powerfully. "Aura Sphere!"

A gigantic, vaguely round, wave of Aura burst from the jewel and struck Tanaka square in the nose. Tanaka roared in pain and collapsed on the ground.

"Yes!" Ash exclaimed.

Tanaka stood up wearily. Blood leaked from his broken nose. For a brief moment, his confidence vanished from his face, only to reappear. "So, it appears you still have a few tricks left up your sleeves" Tanaka mocked. "This won't be as boring as I initially believed."

The Prophet wiped the blood from his face and lunged forward, swinging his fist at Ash. Ash parried his arm with the staff. Tanaka flung his foot towards Ash's head. Ash blocked with the staff and Tanaka inadvertently rested his leg on the stick. Ash moved the staff forcefully and Tanaka lost his balance and fell to the ground. Ash raised the staff above his head then brought it down, striking Tanaka on the chest with the metal head.

Tanaka hollered in rage, climbed to his knee and swept Ash's legs from under him. Before Ash hit the ground Tanaka blasted him with a close-ranged Aura Sphere. Ash soared dozens of feet through the air. Tanaka then gripped his body in a telekinetic hold. Using this hold he forced Ash's torso to keep flying and bounce up and down off the ground repeatedly. He made Ash's head crash into the ground and into a large rock. He then released his hold. Ash kept flying until he skidded along the ground and crashed hard on his shoulder.

Tanaka trudged over to Ash as he lay prostrate and in pain. The staff, his only way of defense, had been knocked from his hand.

"Wielding the legacy of your ancestors in your hands, you were almost a worthwhile opponent, but without that staff, you're _nothing!_" Tanaka sneered maniacally.

Tanaka knelt down and clasped Ash's throat in his left hand. He purposefully choked Ash in such a way that he would perish slowly and excruciatingly.

"_Ash!_" Pikachu yelled, having regained his composure. "_Let him go or I swear I'll…_"

"You kill me mouse? Here I stand!" Tanaka declared malevolently.

Pikachu shot a huge blast of electricity that struck Tanaka and engulfed his entire body. Again, nothing happened.

Tanaka threw his right hand back and seized Pikachu in a telekinetic grasp. He tightened the grip around the mouse's throat so he would die the same as Ash.

In the Tree of Beginning meanwhile, Ash's friends watched the battle through the same spiritual screen that displayed memories. They gazed in horror as their friend was being defeated.

"Oh, no" Dawn gasped.

"No. I've already lost Max, please don't take them too!" May begged.

"Come on Ash, you can take this guy!" Brock encouraged.

"Please keep fighting Ash. You can win. Just don't give up" Misty pleaded.

"Good riddance" Paul muttered quietly. He had meant no one to hear him, but Brock had heard him.

POW!

Like a true friend, Brock socked Paul in the face for showing such irreverence for death. No one objected.

"Mew" Kamikaze said as Mew floated in front of him. "Is there nothing we can do to help?"

"_I am sorry_" Mew apologized respectfully.

Houndour looked scornfully at the apparition of Tanaka and warned, "You'd better sleep with your eyes open from now on!"

"No! He can win!" Misty insisted. "You'll see. He'll beat him."

"It doesn't look like it" Drew said in a brutally honest manner.

"No!" Misty yelled. Ash she saw the life leave Ash's eyes she thought of how he gave up his innocence as a non-murder to protect her and save her life. She couldn't believe that after all that, he was going to die.

"Get up Ash" she beseeched. "Please get up Ash. Damn it Ash! Please get up!"

As the last bits of life were almost squeezed from Ash's and Pikachu's lungs, Ash could almost swear he heard Misty's distressful prayers. Somehow, hearing someone's voice besides Tanaka's filled him with on odd strength. He used his right hand and grabbed Tanaka's choking hand, attempting to pry it off. It did not work.

Abruptly, Misty's words echoed in Ash's head like a church bell. "_Please get up!_"

A strange resolve grew from inside of Ash. He raised his left hand in front of Tanaka's face. He suddenly began glowing an amazing green light, like how Mew did when performing a miracle with a sacrificed Aura. He felt his right hand succeeding in loosening Tanaka's grip. With his left hand he let loose an unusually strong Aura Sphere that had a green tint.

The sphere collided with Tanaka's head. The diabolical Prophet was flung hundreds of feet back through the air. He crashed on and skidded across the ground many times before crashing into a gigantic boulder.

Ash and Pikachu stood up. Pikachu was surrounded by the empowering glow as well. "_You're okay Ash!_" the voice of Misty beamed inside his head.

"I can hear your thoughts? All of your thoughts" Ash said as he felt his Aura touch that of everyone in the Tree so closely that it was like they were standing in front of him.

"_I guess you're even stronger than we thought Ash_" Houndour praised.

Ash stared with his hands as they shined with green light. "I guess so" he said, almost not believing he was still alive. "How'd I do that?"

Mew answered. It said, "_It's amazing. I've only seen this a few times in my entire life. You have somehow triggered the power of the Unified Auras. The power of your friends Auras, your family's Auras, the Aura of everyone you have bonded with, is being given to you._"

"What do you mean 'bonded with'?"

"_Any human or Pokémon who you developed a bond of friendship, love or even friendly acquaintanceship has their Aura bonded to yours. You have a rather large collection of those Auras. The strength of all those people is being lent to you. Apparently, you have bonded with enough Auras to be a match for Tanaka's sacrifices._"

"So now it's an even match?"

"_Pretty much, as long as you can out-fight Tanaka._"

"No problem" Ash assured, clenching his fists.

Tanaka stumbled back over to where Ash was. "Well, I did not expect that" the Prophet admitted wearily.

"I guess that's why it worked" Ash smirked.

"As they say in American, no more Mr. Nice Guy!" Tanaka bellowed as he propelled his fist at Ash's face. Ash blocked the blow with his forearm. Tanaka kicked his left foot at Ash's head. Ash ducked. Tanaka swept at Ash's legs again. Ash jumped 20 feet in the air. As Ash came back down his feet were filled with his Aura's might and when he hit the ground a huge pulse of Aura thundered from his legs and knocked Tanaka on his back.

"That wasn't very hard" Ash said, not in an egotistical manner, but in a surprised way. Tanaka tried to punch him again. Ash blocked and swiped his arm away with a karate chop. Tanaka spun around and aimed his foot for Ash's eye, but Ash moved his head to the side, caught Tanaka's leg in his hands, and tossed the grown man to the ground like a throw-pillow.

"You little bastard!" Tanaka barked. He stood up and attempted to strike Ash again. Ash dodged and blocked all of his blows.

"Now I get it" Ash realized as he defended himself. "You aren't used to fighting. You're used to killing people who are defenseless against you. You don't know how to fight someone who's an even match for you."

"That wouldn't be you!" Tanaka asserted. The Prophet propelled his fist forward again. Ash evaded it, seized the attacking arm, and flung Tanaka over his shoulder. The dark samurai hit the ground with a pound.

As he climbed to his knees, Tanaka admitted, "You're right. I am not used to fighting. I have never met someone who's power was a match for mine. And…" He moved the fingers on his right hand in the position where he could snap them. "…I still haven't."

Ash was frozen in place. How could he protect himself from this? Tanaka snapped his finger.

For a moment time seemed to move slower. Ash's feet refused to move but his mind and Aura told him to. His feet declined but his Aura and mind decided to move. So they did.

Ash disappeared from the spot he was in into thin air. When the tiny Aura Sphere exploded Ash was not in its path. Pikachu had jumped away from it.

Ash reappeared in front of Tanaka.

"Teleportation, I don't even have that ability!!" Tanaka exclaimed bitterly. He tried to punch Ash again. Ash teleported away from the strike.

BAM!

He reappeared on Tanaka's other side and smacked his face with his fist.

"You don't say?" Ash gloated. Tanaka tried to grab him. He disappeared again.

POW!

He reappeared and popped Tanaka in the eye. Tanaka snapped his fingers again. Ash teleported away.

CRUNCH!

Ash rematerialized and hit Tanaka in his bloody, broken nose. As Tanaka roared in pain Ash dematerialized again and the Aura Bomb exploded. The detonation hit Tanaka full force and shot him in the air.

"Now Pikachu!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu jumped in the air after Tanaka and slapped the Prophet with his Iron Tail attack. Tanaka was knocked a dozen feet back and slammed hard on the ground.

"Ouch!" Ash boasted.

Tanaka stood up. His face bore the angry scowl of a hyena that had its meal stolen by a lion. His anger muting him, he roared in inarticulate, incomprehensible anger. Still howling, he rushed at Ash, his hands extended like claws.

Ash's senses were acute. He could feel where his sword was. He used kinesis to pick it up. Tanaka lunged at him. He used his Aura and guided the blade. Tanaka was almost upon him. He pounced at him like a puma. Ash launched his katana forward.

SLICE!

Ash's sword cut across Tanaka's torso, breaking one of his ribs. The Prophet collapsed on the ground, gasping for oxygen.

"Well, that's it I guess" Ash sighed.

"ARROGANT CHILD!" Tanaka boomed. His fingers unfolded. Ash was seized in a blackish-blue light. He was unable to move. The hold tightened around his throat, choking him. He felt the power of his Aura being sucked out of him.

"YOU CAN'T DEFEAT ME!"

"_Oh, yes we can!_" Pikachu protested. "_Thunder!_" A wave of electricity blasted from the Pokémon's body and was absorbed into the evil light. The lightning engulfed both of the Guardians, but Ash felt no pain, Tanaka however screamed in agony.

Ash saw this opening. He felt Tanaka's hold over him weaken. He lifted his sword with his telekinesis. He moved it directly in front of him. He clasped the handle in his palms. He leapt forward, the point of the blade aimed at Tanaka's chest.

BASH!

The katana pieced Tanaka's black heart. Ash removed it. Tanaka limply fell down.

Ash sighed, wearily and guiltily. "We did it Pikachu" he said somberly. What Ash heard next startled him beyond belief. Tanaka's carcass began laughing insanely.

"You think you've won" Tanaka whispered with the little bit of strength he had. "You are wrong. You're grandfather did much worse than this. My pulse and breath may have slowed to a crawl but I will heal. You have accomplished nothing."

What was Ash to do now? What could he do to Tanaka that was more fatal than gashing a hole in his heart? Only one thing; he had to decapitate him.

Ash raised his sword. "Don't look Pikachu" he requested.

"How many of my vital organs must be destroyed for me to finally die? Won't you have fun finding out?" Tanaka teased.

Ash brought his sword down.

Before it reached the target, Mew appeared between them.

"_You have done enough Ash_" Mew told him. "_You can put your sword away._"

Ash was confused but sheathed his weapon. "I thought the Tree wanted me to kill him" he said, a little relieved.

"_There is no need. You have proven yourself willing and able to do whatever is necessary to protect the world. Whether or not you actually have to is irrelevant._"

"What?"

"_As a Guardian of Aura it is your duty to do whatever is necessary to achieve and preserve peace. My friend wanted you to prove that you were prepared to do that. And you were going to do what was needed, that is good enough. As a reward, I will let you keep your hands clean._"

Tanaka was surrounded by a holy, green light. He was lifted in front of Mew.

"_Do you regret what you have done, Tanaka Yoshiro?_"

Part of Tanaka wanted to say 'yes', the only part of him that retained his senses of morality and logic, that faced with this overwhelming evidence that his actions were sinful had to concede. But he was too proud and set in his ways.

"Never" he hissed.

"_I'm sorry to hear that. Goodbye sir._" And in that instant, Tanaka's body cells were separated one by one by some strange power, until his entire body was ripped apart and disappeared into thin air.

"He's dead?" Ash asked. Mew nodded. In the next instant, Sir Aaron's staff was in Mew's forepaws.

Mew handed it to Ash. "_You are a Guardian of Aura_" Mew declared, its voice full of pride.

Ash took the staff. "Thanks" he said. "But I don't deserve this. Not yet. I'm just a student. This should belong to my grandfather."

"_There is no need for modesty now Ash. You have conquered the Prophets. Now as the eldest Tajiri of this generation you are next in line to become the Guardian Shogun, the leader of the Guardians and the Guardian Council. And now my friend has another wish, a wish that my friend shall grant on its own. From no on the suicidal method by which Tanaka got his powers is null and void. It is no longer possible to use._"

"How will the Tree make that happen?"

"_Don't worry. My friend wills it, so it will happen. And just to make you feel good, now Guardians can have the ability of teleportation. You discovered a new power, now don't you feel special?_" Mew said, regaining its childish demeanor.

Ash and Pikachu suddenly stopped glowing. "I guess the Tree gave us the extra muscle we needed to win, huh?"

"_No. You did that on your own. Just don't ever expect it to happen again. Your bond with the people you care for was enough for you to use the Unified Auras when you were in the greatest danger. But I don't think you'll ever be in the type of danger where you'll need it again. So don't depend on it._"

"All right" Ash agreed.

"_Now, you have done your duty, it's time for Yumi to do hers._"

Mew warped back to the Tree, in front of Yumi.

"_Are you ready?_" Mew asked soberly.

"I am" Yumi nodded.

"Yumi" Brock said, "Isn't there another way besides killing yourself?"

"Better that I die, than my sensei or the crowned Shogun" Yumi answered, attempting to mask her feelings but with some of her fear and sadness trailing her voice.

"Come on Yumi."

"Goodbye Brock. I will miss your companionship."

She faced Mew and held up her hands. "The power of Aura will prevail!" she yelled as an orb of light grew in the space between her and Mew.

Yumi's body began shining a weak shade of blue as the ball of energy expanded and Mew began glowing the same shade of green as Ash.

Yumi hollered as her increase in effort became more strenuous as her Aura withered away.

"Goodbye!" Yumi shouted as her health deteriorated.

"No!" Brock begged. Acting completely on impulsive instinct Brock grabbed Yumi's shoulders. Like a piece of metal to a magnet his hands were stuck to her by the foggy blue light.

"You idiot!" Houndour shouted. "You'll die too!"

"What the hell are you doing Brock?!" Dawn asked indignantly.

"Maybe this was a bad idea" Brock confessed, his life force being drained much quicker than Yumi's.

Dawn ran over to them. "Let go of her!" Dawn ordered, trying to pry Brock away from Yumi. Her hands became stuck as well.

"Dawn!" May exclaimed. Like a lemming, she repeated Dawn and Brocks actions, and became trapped.

"Oh no!" Misty gasped. "What's going to happen to them Houndour?"

"Their Auras aren't strong enough to sustain it, they'll all die!" Houndour answered fearfully.

"If they had more Auras could that be enough to work without killing any of them?"

"Maybe, it's been done before."

Without another word, Misty ran over and attacked herself to the Aura battery.

"No!" Houndour demanded. "No, not you too Misty!"

Drew seemed nervous but then decided to join the conglomeration. Paul stared in disbelief.

Jessie, James, and Meowth gazed at this, perplexed. A strange thought occurred to James. "Guys" he said to his two friends. "Let's do at least one noble thing with our lives."

"What?" Jessie questioned.

"You're right James" Meowth agreed.

"Oh" Jessie groaned. "All right." They joined the collection.

"No. Only the Aura of a Guardian is strong enough to appease a sacrifice" Kamikaze mumbled.

"Well" Houndour sighed, indifferently. "I guess I've lived a full life."

Not disagreeing with his partner's intentions, Kamikaze replied, "As have I."

Houndour walked over to Misty and placed a paw on her leg. Kamikaze knelt down and touched Houndour's back.

As their Auras were depleted from their bodies, they felt the magnetic pull to each other weaken. They ceased glowing and fell on the ground.

"Yumi!" Brock said as he crawled over to her. She was unconscious.

"Is she dead?" he asked despairingly.

"Her body would be fading away if she was dead" Houndour answered. "It seems we saved her life."

Mew floated up to the roof of the Tree, illuminating the sacred light. The light swelled and flowed all throughout the Tree.

"_That will stop the army_" Mew said simply.

Back in San Diego, more airships had landed on the shore and numerous Prophets were advancing on the American soldiers. The Americans tried to shoot them, to no effect. Nobutada was at the head of the squad.

All of a sudden, the great light of the Tree appeared on the beach and enclosed the entire battlefield.

The Prophets halted. Like the combatants of the army that threatened Cameran Palace 1,000 years ago, the glow appealed to their Auras and minds. All at once, their feelings of greed, hatred, anger, and revenge vanished and were replaced with understanding, forgiveness, and most of all, remorse for what they had done.

"What are you morons doing?!" Nobutada barked. "Attack them!" He was too stubborn and faithful in his master; he ignored the Tree's influence.

"What are we doing Nobutada?" one of the men asked, filled with horrible guilt.

"What? Enough of this, attack!"

"No!" another Prophet said.

"No more killing!" a woman Prophet demanded.

"What is this defiance? Tanaka won't have this!" Nobutada yapped.

"Tanaka is dead, we all can feel it. We've lost" a Prophet at his shoulder said.

"No!"

"That's right. We have to stop now!" another Prophet said.

"Enough of this!" Nobutada shouted. He looked to the Americans. He saw the leading general. He raised his sword above his head. The general raised a pistol he was holding. Nobutada proceeded but something happened that he didn't count on. The Tree had foreseen this and saw fit to take away his powers. The general pointed his pistol at the Prophet's blind eye. He fired. The man who robbed May of her brother, Misty of both her parents, and Ash of his father fell to the ground, dead.

In the sky, the Prophets still flying were crushed by their guiltiness. They lowered the shields around their ships. The Air Support reengaged them and destroyed the rest of the fleet, including the flagship.

The Americans aimed their guns at the surviving Prophets. The Prophets dropped their weapons and stooped to their knees.

"Please forgive us" one of them pleaded.


	21. Epilogue: Many Years Later

Guardians of Aura Chapter 21: the Epilogue

12 years later, a party was being held in Cameran Palace celebrating the fall of the Prophets and the return of the True Guardians. The whole kingdom had gathered there and the merriment was great. Of course, Ash Tajiri, the crowned Shogun of the order of the True Guardians was attending along with the current Shogun, Kamikaze Tajiri and his closest friends.

As when he had inadvertently released Lucario from it, Ash sat at the head of the dance floor, watching over the festival with dignified grace holding the staff of legend. He was quite an impressive young man. He was rather tall, having experienced a spurt of growth in his adolescence. He was quite muscular, his training as a Guardian had given him the health and physique of an Olympian athlete, even greater. Despite this though, his face and way of presenting himself were modest, not at all conceited or arrogant. Like the day when he had overcome Tanaka, he was wearing the traditional dress of Sir Aaron. Over his gloved left hand was a golden ring with a diamond in it. His grandfather stood on his right-hand side and Pikachu slept at his feet.

Ash was known by his father's surname now because after consulting his mother, his grandfather, and his friends he decided to take the name of the father who had given his life so that his family might live over the name of the grandparents who had forsaken their own daughter in her greatest hour of need.

The wife of the Guardian Hero approached his modest throne holding his infant son, Satoshi.

"Excuse me Kamikaze, would you mind taking over here while I borrowed my husband for a quick dance?" she asked friendlily.

"Not at all Misty" Kamikaze replied. She handed him her baby delicately and he sat down in Ash's chair as he stood up.

Houndour then approached the throne, panting tiredly.

"What are you doing here Houndour? I thought you said you were going to, 'dance the night away'" Ash teased.

"Well" Houndour responded. "I'm not as young as I once was. I think it's time for a nap." He lay down next to the chair.

Misty took Ash's hand and led him to the dance floor. She was a wearing a blue kimono dress. She was very pretty.

As they passed across the floor, they saw some of their closest friends. They saw Brock and Yumi. After he had nearly lost his life to save hers, Brock had little trouble convincing Yumi to return his feelings. They were married. They were playing with their daughter, Lola, named for Brock's mother. She was about 6-years-old. They waved at Ash and Misty as they passed by. Brock gave a casual thumbs-up to Ash, as he had made a habit of doing after he and Yumi started dating.

They arrived at the dance floor. They took each other in their arms and began dancing slowly. They kissed.

Also on the dance floor were May and Drew. After Drew had comforted May and offered her companionship during the loss of her brother their dormant friendship whose seeds had been planted by their fierce rivalry, had begun to flourish. It had even developed beyond that. May had recently become pregnant with Drew's legitimate child.

Ash came over to them and slapped Drew on the back. "Congratulations!" he boomed.

"Thanks Ash" Drew replied as he shrugged painfully. "You got to watch that arm of yours. Almost broke my spine there."

They erupted into laughter. "Guess I still don't know my own strength."

"Don't break my husband" May joked. "I'm going to need him when she comes."

"Or he" Drew reminded.

"Or he" May agreed.

Then an amusing sight occurred. They saw Dawn dragging Paul, who was smiling awkwardly onto the floor.

"Are those two…?" Misty started to ask.

"Not yet" Ash answered. "Changing that one" he added, referring to Paul "is a long, enduring process." But Paul had indeed change. Watching the group of friends risking their lives to save each other had touched him in a way that was mysterious to him. Slowly he became less unpleasant. Dawn had vehemently helped him become more social by forcefully offering him his first real friendship. He had also become more humble after Ash had defeated him and won the Sinnoh League after the Prophets were conquered.

"Okay folks, enough of the sappy stuff" the voice of Meowth announced. "Let's party!"

Jessie and James began beating drums joyfully. They were wearing white and red kimono robes. So was Meowth. Taking Dawn's suggestion they had built lawful careers as musicians for hire. They had even played at Ash and Misty's wedding, as well as Drew and May's.

A festive, Latin-sounding song pounded from the drums and the instruments behind them. Everyone began dancing festively.

"I love the quiet life!" James announced ironically.

"It's not as bad as I thought it would be!" Jessie agreed.

After a while Misty and Ash left the floor to get some punch. They then returned to the chair.

"Would you mind if I borrowed my grandson for a minute Misty?" Kamikaze asked, handing her the child.

"How about it Misty?" Ash asked. "Would you mind if the Grand Shogun had an audience with his most loyal subject?"

"Indeed not" Misty answered, playing along.

Houndour stood up and yawned. "You come too Pikachu" he requested, kicking the sleeping mouse softly. "Wake up you lazy Pokémon."

"_I'm up, I'm up_" Pikachu said as he rose.

Kamikaze and Ash went up to a balcony, the same one where Lucario had agreed to help Ash search for Pikachu when he was lost and where Ilene held the staff before it was returned to Ash. The moon was full that night.

"Some day it's been huh? May and Drew are going to be parents!" Ash beamed.

"Yes" Kamikaze replied, joyously, though seeming distracted. "It reminds me of when Sato was born." He was referring to his great-grandson, not his son.

"Yeah, boy I tell you there's no feeling that can compare to being a father."

"Indeed not. If only my son could have experienced it."

"Well he would have made a good father."

"Yes. It wouldn't have been easy, but he would have made it."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, we shouldn't pretend that Satoshi's intentions weren't more than what would be expected from all lot of people."

"I'm not sure I know what…"

"Well Ash, I was relieved and proud to discover that my son was every bit the man I raised him to be but always remember, it wasn't easy for him to decide to claim you as his own, even if it was the right thing. Part of him was tempted to abandon you. Always appreciate that he was strong enough to resist that. Don't think of him as a monster and don't think of him as a saint. Think of him as a man."

Ash nodded in agreement. It was true that after he discovered his father's love for him Ash's opinion of him had completely flip-flopped. But now he realized that he should think of him as human.

"So, you have had a vision of the future" Kamikaze said. Ash had told him that before the party.

"I have" Ash replied. Even though he had been a Guardian of Aura for 14 years this was Ash's first psychic vision.

"What did you see?"

"Misty and I will have another son, and a daughter."

"That is wonderful."

"That's not all."

"It is not?"

"No. At least one of my children will become a Guardian of Aura."

"So" Kamikaze started, looking down towards the party and his great-grandchild "the legacy continues."

He looked to Ash. "It is in good hands" he complimented.

He added, "I have been Shogun for over 70 years. I can relinquish the position with no worry whatsoever."

Ash turned serious. "I have sensed it too" he said somberly.

"Yes. My time has come."

"So has mine" Houndour added.

"_96 years; you had good run_" Pikachu acknowledged.

"Nice to see you so grief-stricken" Houndour said sarcastically.

"_We've had time to come to terms with this. But_…" Pikachu walked over to Houndour and stood on his hind-legs. "_I'll miss you, my sensei._"

"I'll miss you too…" Houndour replied. "…my dear friend." They hugged as best as a bipedal mouse and a dog could manage.

"Bye grandfather" Ash bade. They hugged.

"Goodbye grandson."

Sir Aaron's staff was leaning against the wall. Ash had put it there. Kamikaze took it and gave it to Ash.

"You are the Shogun now Ash" he said.

"I don't know if I'm ready" Ash responded.

"And that is why I _know _you are."

Houndour's ears perked up. "I know you're there Misty" he said.

Misty came onto the balcony.

"I'm going to miss you too" Houndour told her.

"Don't talk like that Houndour. You've lived too long to quit now" Misty said, dismissing the idea.

"I wish that was true. But it is the will of the Tree and the will of God that my time ends tonight."

"Don't talk like that Houndour."

"Misty" Houndour began, his voice sounding genuine and grateful. "You were one of my closest friends. Thank you so much for saving my life. I just wish I could have repaid you for that."

"You don't have anything to repay me for. Friends look out of each other."

"I have another regret. Tell May that I apologize with all my heart that I did not protect Max. It has haunted me all these years. Tell her that I wish with every bone in my body that I had saved him."

"Please stop talking like this. Tell her yourself. You're not leaving for a long time."

Houndour placed his paws on her legs. "I love you Misty" he told her.

Misty knelt down and hugged her friend. "Goodbye" he said.

He and Kamikaze walked over to the edge of the balcony as they felt their Auras lighten.

"I regret nothing" Kamikaze said.

"Upstage me, why don't you?" Houndour mocked.

Their bodies began to glow a transparent blue.

"Misty" Kamikaze said. "Goodbye to you. Ash could never have found a better wife. I am proud to call you my granddaughter."

"Pikachu" he then said. "Thank you for saving Ash's life in his battle. You are a remarkable partner to him."

"Ash" he said. "I have and will always be, proud of you. I love you with all my heart."

"I love you too" Ash replied.

Their bodies became more and more translucent.

"Goodbye" Kamikaze and Houndour said simultaneously. "Give Sato our love."

Their bodies were almost gone when something miraculous happened. Ash saw the shape of Satoshi, his father, standing next to his grandfather.

"My son" the ghost said. Ash stared gapingly in disbelief.

They disappeared, their bodies transformed into forms of pure light that floated off to the Tree of Beginning.

Ash still stared in non-belief but Misty began crying. He hugged her and they comforted each other.

"I can't believe they're gone" she wept.

"No. They'll never be gone" Ash promised.

"Their Auras are with us."


End file.
